Rides Dec. 10th

[azfiddle]

Owlie,

you know you're welcome anytime, but I don't think I have much control over the weather! Good for you for getting out when it's colder. I will ride in the 40's but that's pretty much my limit. Not worth getting all that cold weather gear for the 10 days in the year I might need it! And I'm a wimp anyway.

[Owlie]

Owlie,

you know you're welcome anytime, but I don't think I have much control over the weather! Good for you for getting out when it's colder. I will ride in the 40's but that's pretty much my limit. Not worth getting all that cold weather gear for the 10 days in the year I might need it! And I'm a wimp anyway.

I'm good to the 40s, maybe even to the freezing point if it's dry and there's no wind. I'm still working on the feet and hands thing. I've just had a harder time acclimating to the cold this year, because we've had an unusually mild November and I haven't been outside as much this year as I was at this time last year.

Not that it really matters, because I'm still stuck inside. I tried just under 30 minutes of resistance intervals, and my side was not happy with the higher resistance. I don't quite want to risk outdoor riding until I'm satisfied that it's healed.

[MojoGrrl]

Only 31 miles today, on a wine tasting tour. A lot of climbing - mostly fairly short hills but some very steep - and it's the first day of my period so I was crampy and tired and felt like crap, but I did it!

[Crankin]

Going out today, in probably close to the coldest temperatures I've done a road ride. I've done a couple of early AM rides that were in the low 30s, but they were very short, 10 miles. And, I've done a couple of mountain bike rides in the high twenties.
But it's very clear and sunny, with no wind. I may try using my PI Amphib gloves again. I was spooked a few years ago when they got caught in the shifter. My solution has been a thin pair of Ibex wool glove liners under a light weight/vented pair of full fingered gloves that are a size too big, with the addition of a chemical warmer when it's really cold. This way the gloves are thin and there's room for the warmer. But, the cheap warmers we bought a couple of years ago are running out of juice... am in the process of ordering more (different brand), as the x country ski season is approaching. Yesterday, I noticed my fingers getting cold near the end of my ride. When I got home the warmers were cold!

[redrhodie]

I was wondering if you were still going out, Crankin. It's cold! I love it. I wore a similar glove combo, Ibex liner, some crazy hard core Specialized men's outer layer. I made perfect clothes choices for once. I wore my new LG Oslo tights, which I was really skeptical about when I put them on, and the chamois went north. I ended up wearing a pair of Barely There underwear underneath, and that worked great. Kept the chamois in check, felt comfortable, and now I don't have to wash the tights after every ride.

I also wore an Ibex woolie, under one of their jerseys, and my warmest winter jacket. Lake boots with wool socks. A wool buff and a wool cap under my helmet.

Just 20 miles or so, but it felt great.

[Crankin]

I've gone to my Ibex tights for this kind of riding, although they were bought for skiing. My regular fleece beanie is fine for my head and yesterday i had to wear a sleeveless base layer with a mid weight fleece lined jersey, because with my heaviest jacket (a Gore jacket I bought from Bluetree), I sweat like crazy. Today, I will wear my LS Craft base layer, though and maybe a jersey that is a little heavier. I also might wear my cycling knickers under my tights, instead of shorts.

[Tri Girl]

A group of 6 of us did our monthly Cupcake Ride. Rode 11 miles total. Had to go to the Whole Foods since the cupcake shop we were going to wasn't open for business yet. A nice, leisurely ride.

The attire is supposed to be dresses and such, but everyone wore spandex (but me). It's still a fairly new ride, so hopefully as the weather warms up, more people will dress fancy. It's not a hammer-ride, but a ride to show people you can ride in normal clothes. Oh well.

[WindingRoad]

Crankin - I have done the knicker thing under my winter tights and it works pretty good actually