Quote Originally Posted by hilaryclaire View Post
i recently bought a bike with the ultimate goal of commuting to work. someone in my office rode in this morning and i'm jealous! i'm ok with cold weather, but i don't have any sort of windproff jackets or gloves. and, like everyone else in the county, i'm SO BROKE. so far all the stuff i've looked at is super expensive. any advice?
The reason I like the expensive stuff is that if it is made specifically for cycling, it doesn't have flappy bits that can get in the way or get caught in the chain and cause you to wreck. But you can go a long ways with regular clothes if you secure everything using rubber bands, safety pins, velcro straps, duct tape, anything you can think of!

I don't know how cold is cold for you. Layers are the key. A base layer that is wicking, an outer layer that blocks the wind, and if it's really cold (for me that's about 35F) a layer in between.

The other important things are your extremities. A balaclava for your head (nashbar has them on sale for $8), ski gloves, maybe with a liner, thick wool socks--but not so thick that they constrict. However much you layer up it must all be loose or you will end up colder.

Your priority is gloves and a balaclava. Then start thinking about a windblocking jacket.

One of the first things I learned is that a winter coat doesn't work well on the bike, even in the coldest of cold. It makes me too hot in the wrong places and leaves me much too cold in others. There are two other tricks I've learned: warm up before you go out (ie jumping jacks or something), and when you arrive, wait 10 minutes to stop sweating and then change into your clean shirt and/or other work clothes.