I rode last Wednesday night after work. The weather was decent, high 40s. I tried out my new Gore Contessa jacket. It does a good job blocking the wind, but the sleeves were shorter than I'd like. Luckily my gloves come up far enough to cover my wrists. I also tried out chemical foot warmers for the first time. I followed Crankin's advice and wore thinner socks (DeFeet Wooleators rather than Woolie Boolies) and made sure the shoe straps were loose enough. I put the toe warmers under the front part of the foot -- my problem is that the metal cleat makes my feet cold -- and they did keep my feet warm, but it's not really comfortable to have the extra layer there. I think I rode about 17 miles in all. I've been very slow lately on these rides. I think I just am less motivated to push myself in the winter. I feel so constricted by the tights and the booties and the extra layers under my jacket.
Yesterday (Sunday) I led a 32 mile ride for the bike club. It was a nice winter day, lots of sunshine with temps in the mid-40s and hardly any wind. There were five people in the group and we all rode together most of the time. It was my 15th time leading a ride this year, the same number as last year despite all the sick time in the spring and summer. So that's a good thing. I used the toe warmers again; my feet stayed warm but I started to get that numbness in my toes that you get when your insole isn't supporting your foot right. It wasn't too bad though and was better than being cold. I know I could try putting the toe warmers on top of my feet, or even on top of the shoe between it and the booty, but I don't think that will solve the problem of the cold coming from the cleats.
I might have one more chance to ride this year -- I'll be busy with holiday/family stuff for the next week or so, but if the weather cooperates I will be able to ride on the 30th or 31st after work. I haven't uploaded anything to Garmin Connect in months. I suppose a good project for New Year's Day will be to plug my Garmin into my pc and hit the upload button -- and then go off and do something else, since it undoubtedly will take a while to transfer all my rides. But I am curious to see how many miles I rode this year.
Looking ahead, I usually take my bike to the LBS in January for an annual clean-and-tune. They offer deals and coupons in January because their business is always slow then. But I think this year I will wait and have it cleaned at the end of February or early March, when I hope we will no longer have to worry about snow and ice and salt on the roads.
Last edited by ny biker; 12-21-2015 at 01:03 PM.
- Gray 2010 carbon WSD road bike, Rivet Independence saddle
- Red hardtail 26" aluminum mountain bike, Bontrager Evoke WSD saddle
- Royal blue 2018 aluminum gravel bike, Rivet Pearl saddle
Gone but not forgotten:
- Silver 2003 aluminum road bike
- Two awesome worn out Juliana saddles