What to wear--start cold, end warm

[Becky]

I'd be leaning towards knee warmers, arm warmers, and a vest. I have found that mid-40s in the spring, when it warms quickly, don't feel as cold as mid-40s in the fall or winter.

I'm used to wearing long-fingered gloves at all temps, so I'd probably wear a pair of summerweight long-fingers like I use for mountain biking.

[goldfinch]

What kind of bike are you riding? There are racks that mount from the seatpost only. They won't carry much weight, but could hold a rack pack with a few clothes in it. As an added bonus, this sort of rack would also have a fender-like effect to keep you from getting a wet muddy stripe up your back if it rains.

No time to get a seat post rack and I have questionable clearance for one because my frame is so small. I am riding a Madone with a 43cm frame. I think that I will end up clearing out my seat bag a bit and then hanging my small handlebar bag off the seat to stuff things in. It won't hold much though.

I'd be leaning towards knee warmers, arm warmers, and a vest. I have found that mid-40s in the spring, when it warms quickly, don't feel as cold as mid-40s in the fall or winter.

I'm used to wearing long-fingered gloves at all temps, so I'd probably wear a pair of summerweight long-fingers like I use for mountain biking.

Lately it has not been warming up quickly, still early in the season here. I will be using long finger gloves. I decided to order a pair of knickers online, the same brand as a pair of shorts I like from Pearl Izumi.

[Susan Otcenas]

Your situation is very common on Oregon rides. Even in warmer months, it's always cool overnight, so we often start in cool temps.

Armwarmers and a light vest are two of the most important things you can have in your wardrobe. Armwarmers can be pushed down when you aren't quite sure you're ready to remove them. Once you do, they roll up like a pair of socks and fit easily into a pocket. Vests can be had for as little as 3 ounces. These things scrunch down to something the size of an egg (seriously) and can be put into a pocket, a seat pack, or smushed into a teeny little stuffsack (or it's own pocket) then stuffed in a pocket.

If it's really going to be 75 with no chance of rain, I'll usually forgo the leg warmers and just have cool legs the first hour or so.

Susan

[goldfinch]

I guess I will have to decide at the last minute what to wear. This morning it was 37 degrees and right now it is 49 at the ride start, at 10:30 am. (I will be starting between 6 and 7 a.m.) Using the principle that the best predictor of weather is the prior day's weather, I doubt that it is going to warm up very fast. I am glad that I ordered the knickers.

For some reason I am nervous about this ride. With all the rain we got in the past two weeks I have not been riding much.

[OakLeaf]

You'll be fine. You haven't lost any fitness in two weeks, provided you haven't been sick or anything. Think of it as a taper. You're fit and you'll be well rested for the ride.

I've found the NWS's hourly weather graph to be very accurate a couple of days out. It's a little bit early to check for the weekend yet, but here's what they're saying for Brainerd as of now - nearly 60° by 9 a.m., partly cloudy, humidity and winds nice and low. Sounds like a perfect day for a ride to me. http://forecast.weather.gov/MapClick...2&AheadDay.y=7 Have fun!