Cold Feet

[bikerHen]

I just finished a great 28 mile ride in 30 degree weather. By mile 10 my feet were cold, by mile 20 they had no feeling, by mile 28 I called DH to come pick me up. It took 15 minutes in a very hot, but oh so wonderful, shower to thaw them out! I recently purchased some neoprene shoe covers but they aren't doing the job. I saw some wind blocking shoe covers and am wondering if they would help. Does anyone have any experience with these products? My other problem is wicking, or lack there of. I had a long sleeve wicking base layer under a wicking jersey, with a windbreaker jacket on top. I stopped for a well deserved hamburger on the way home and while inside unzipped my jacket but didn't take it off. Did that stop the wicking fabric from doing it's thing? I was soaking wet and freezing by the time I was ready to go. Luckily I had a small hill to go up right away so I warmed up fairly quickly. I still had plenty of energy to finish the ride but was just too darn wet and cold. Bikerhen

[Grog]

Congrats! on your courage to start a ride in this cold weather. Be careful on the ice though!

Feet: I find wool socks to make a big difference. The toe covers help but not as much as the booties for me. When it's extra cold I have the neoprene booties with a more windbreaking bootie over it. Then I'm toasty, but there's always the risk of getting cold if I have to stop.

Top: Taking off the jacket would probably have helped the sweat evaporate instead of staying inside and making you wet and cold. Windbreaking fabric is usually less breathing. However, I still find that I am cold for a few minutes after a stop, even when I am "perfectly" dressed. Having just eaten will make things worse because your blood will be confused: help digestion in the stomach or warm up the extremities?? I just try to hit a hill (or go a bit harder for a few minutes) to warm up after a stop...

When I feel that it's really cold and that I'm not properly dressed... I turn around before it's too late, because if after 5 minutes I'm not feeling better, I will not feel better in 20 minutes.

[Duck on Wheels]

I haven't biked in weather that cold, but I have skied in colder. Wool is one part of the answer. The other is have big enough shoes. You have to be able to move your toes, even with wool socks on! The overbooties for windbreaking will help, but only if the shoes are big enough in the first place and you have wool for an insulating layer. It's entrapped air that keeps you warm, so the space for it and the fibres to trap it have to be there. The bike shoes that fit you in summer will be too tight for winter when you need wool socks. And if your shoes are too tight, your toes will freeze. When they hurt, that's a warning. When they stop hurting you're in real trouble! My son came home from skiing one day with boots half a size too small. His toes were dark blue. We had to take him straight to the hospital for thaw treatment (warm water) under sedation (because it hurts again as your toes thaw). Luckily, the damage was only temporary. Hopefully, he learned.

[annie]

! I recently purchased some neoprene shoe covers but they aren't doing the job. I saw some wind blocking shoe covers and am wondering if they would help. Does anyone have any experience with these products? My other problem is wicking, or lack there of. I had a long sleeve wicking base layer under a wicking jersey, with a windbreaker jacket on top. I stopped for a well deserved hamburger on the way home and while inside unzipped my jacket but didn't take it off. Did that stop the wicking fabric from doing it's thing? I was soaking wet and freezing by the time I was ready to go. Luckily I had a small hill to go up right away so I warmed up fairly quickly. I still had plenty of energy to finish the ride but was just too darn wet and cold. Bikerhen

Hmmmm, the neoprene shoe covers should do the job of windblock. Are your shoes at all tight? Or did you wear extra thick socks that made the shoes tighter? Too tight shoes will always, always cause feet to freeze. You need to keep every bit of circulation going. Your foot, through the bottom of the shoe, is connected to a cold, metal pedal. It is going to transmit that cold up to your foot eventually, unless you find a way to prevent that. This might sound silly, but what I've done is to put a thin layer of folded aluminum foil, shiny side out, under the insole of my biking shoe, over the area where the cleat is located. I also wear Wooly Bully socks (cushy wool socks) and the neoprene shoe covers. I am able to ride in temps in the 20's without my feet suffering too much. If it's colder than that, I add the chemical toe warmers to the mix. Fortunately, my shoes that I use in the winter are roomy enough to do this.

Wet and cold are the worst! Generally, I just make it a point not to stop when on a cold ride. No matter what marvel of wicking material I've tried, I still sweat enough to become chilled when stopped. It's just not worth it. So I go out and ride and don't stop till I get home. Then take off the damp stuff and hop in a warm shower. I am NOT as brave or determined as some who do really long miles in the cold. 30-40 miles is more than enough and then I can do it non-stop and keep moving and not get too uncomfortably cold. Maybe not how you want to do it, but it's the best I could come up with.

annie

[Trek420]

Trust her, she's from Norway. They know from cold. Bikeless, I didn't know this about Bjern (my nephew). I wondered why he's called Bjern-9-toes (just kidding).

Oh the things we learn on this board.

[Geonz]

I agree - make sure your blood can *circulate* out to those extremities. It helps me when I pretend I'm in yoga class and "open my chest" to let blood to my hands, and basically flex things a lot and try to talk the blood into getting out there. My left foot got cold after 7 miles at -1 F, but I'm good for 30+ miles if it's over 20 - but I also try not to stop! (It could be that I'm better insulated than most people, though - oh, and the genetics are NOrwegian and Celtic and German...)

[DeniseGoldberg]

When I ride in temps in the 20s and 30s, I add toe warmers to the mix. My cycling shoes have just enough room in them for my normal (admittedly lightweight) SmartWool socks plus a toe warmer stuck to the bottom of my feet. I cover my shoes with Pearl Izumi AmFib shoe covers. I suspect that your neoprene covers should provide the same level of insulation. The difference is really the toe warmers.

I get mine from REI - Heat Treat Toe Warmer. There are other brands out there too, but these work for me so I haven't looked any further. There is a 20% discount if you buy 10 or more pairs. And since one of my co-workers also insists on riding in cold weather, we usually buy 10 at a time & split them.

--- Denise

[salsabike]

When I ride here in Seattle and the temp's under 40, I wear SmartWool mountaineering socks--the warmest socks REI could show me, since my toes get really cold. Those seem to work, and you can always add the neoprene shoe covers over such socks if you need to--they will also help.

Re wicking layer: I also got this from the women cyclist/employees at REI---Ibex makes great jerseys from fine merino wool; to quote the REI gang precisely, "Wicks great; doesn't stink". They're not cheap but they're well worth it. Before you buy full price from the Ibex website, try Sierra Trading Post--they often have some kind of ibex top on sale at a great price.

[bikerHen]

Thanks for your suggestions! I do wear wool socks, they were the first thing I tried before the neoprene booties. Tight shoes may be something to look at. I am blessed with square feet! Very short and VERY wide, so finding shoes is always a bit of a problem. My shoes fit well with summer weight socks, but maybe the thicker wool IS making them too tight. And I REALLY like the idea of toe warmers! I think there is a trip to REI in my very near future. As for personal insulation? I'm not even going to go there. I would love to have some better/warmer/wicking clothes but . . . since I'm still in the plus size catagory my choices are very limited. And the stuff is so expensive I keep putting off buying better clothes on the off chance I REALLY WILL be smaller next winter! BikerHen

PS: DH Just walk by and I said I might need new shoes. He said . . . OK!?!

[DeniseGoldberg]

bikerHen -
I don't know if another discussion of layers would be of any use to you - here's a thread where my answer included a list of the clothes I usually wear when riding in cold weather. And most of my layers are not biking-specific: http://forums.teamestrogen.com/showthread.php?t=4757

--- Denise

[newfsmith]

The coldest I have actually ridden in was a -4F/-20C air temp, with windchill that made it a -22F/-30C. For that you simply can't wear cleated biking shoes. It is far easier to find leather winter boots with insulation in wider widths than to find wide women's biking shoes anyway. My normal shoe size is a 61/2 W, that day I wore 71/2WW boots with a pair of thin wool liners and a heavier pair of wool socks. After 40 minutes of riding, my toes were starting to get cold, but not the tingling, burning cold. Mini toe clips make this a fairly efficient setup. Good waterproofing helps keep your feet dry from snow. By the way, the same day, wool chopper mitts with leather overmitt kept my fingers equally happy.

[Duck on Wheels]

My shoes fit well with summer weight socks, but maybe the thicker wool IS making them too tight.

PS: DH Just walk by and I said I might need new shoes. He said . . . OK!?!

Yep. I bet it's the shoes. That time Bjørn nearly froze his toes off ... He'd been out in -17C for two days. The first day (up the mountain and put up the tent) went fine because his boots were just big enough for the lightweight wool socks he was wearing. But after a night in a sleeping bag, the socks were damp. So he changed to the spares he'd brought along, which happened to be thicker. Just enough thicker that it made his boots too tight. You gotta have that air space and wiggle room.

P.S. I'm puzzled by some of the acronyms on the site. I think I get some. LBS is local bike shop? DP is domestic partner? But what's DH? domestic husband? as opposed to wild husband? darling husband? darned husband? I guess all might apply depending on context.

[yellow]

Another take on it...I found that my feet sweat so much with all that stuff on that they get soaked...and then get cold because of the ambient temp. But then I am kind of a chronic "overheater". My thermostat doesn't work very well.

Experiment with different combinations and beware of moisture buildup!

[wavedancer]

I wear neoprene shoe covers and big enough shoes that I can wear my thicker Smartwool socks. I found that my feet still got cold from stepping off the bike and the cold radiating up from the cleat. I fixed that by adding a thin insulating insole from a pair of water shoes. Big eough shoes to add insulation seems to be key.

For insulating layers on my body I prefer something with a light power-stretch fleece next to my skin. I seems to do a better job of keepiing the moisture away from my skin. I don't feel as damp and cold when I stop moving.

[sydney_b]

When I ride in temps in the 20s and 30s, I add toe warmers to the mix. My cycling shoes have just enough room in them for my normal (admittedly lightweight) SmartWool socks plus a toe warmer stuck to the bottom of my feet. I cover my shoes with Pearl Izumi AmFib shoe covers. I suspect that your neoprene covers should provide the same level of insulation. The difference is really the toe warmers.

Me too. I bought my shoes a little large so I can put the toe warmers in. With my wool socks, this makes for a very a-ok ride. I also use wind-blocking toe covers on my shoes. This seems to be working very well for me here in the midwest with long riding temps from 20-35 degress F.

My work commute is only about 30 minutes, so I don't use the warmers for that, just the covers.

On top, I start with a wicking long-sleeve underlayer on top of which I use either a light wool sweater or even nothing but my outer jacket. The outer jacket is a Louis Garneau cycling jacket with good venting in the back and highly breathable. I keep raingear in a bag, but don't need it often.

Legs get PI winter weight tights + shorts for the padding. If really cold, I use some Marmot poly pants on top of those. Combo works great. Went for a 2h ride last night with temps ~25 F in comfort.

/s