Cold Weather Riding

[Gene Cosloy]

[email protected] (mike s) wrote in message
news:<[email protected]>...
> "Al Kubeluis" <[email protected]> wrote in message
> news:<[email protected]>...
> > Hi Bikers, Been doing 40-60 milers in sub 32F and 20+ knot winds. Seems tough, but only hard
> > part is psychological, i.e., getting outside and starting. After 2 miles, all is wonderful.
> > Ironically, keeping from overheating is a problem. Zipping jacket and shirt help maintain
> > temperature. Motor cycle goggles keep eyes from watering and face warm. Wouldn't like to fix
> > flat in extreme cold, so cell phone and route with friends nearby is a caution taken on solo
> > rides. Try cold weather riding on clear roads. You might just like it.
>
>
> What I find makes the best cold weather defense is a balaclava. Normally wear the same layered
> clothing (yes, I wash it in between rides). Rode home yesterday in 28 degrees (not cold enough for
> you northerners but plenty cold for the southerners, and for me in St. Louis) and was working up
> quite a sweat. When I wear just normal head covering, even a Coolmax skullcap, I find it more
> difficult to stay warm. But with that balaclava covering the head and tucked into the jacket the
> only thing I need concentrate on is keeping the toes warm.
>
> As a sidelight, do any of you find your bike handles differently in the colder weather? I find my
> speeds are slower and I seem to work harder. I don't want to repeat the long discussion raised by
> Cletus about a week ago, but just curious as to your experience.

Yes this seems to be the case with me as well. the temp. needs to be 20F or less for me to notice,
however. Remember your General Science teacher/ He told you that energy is neither created nor
destroyed, it just gets transformed from one form to another. e.g. heat to light, or motion to heat.
In our case, the cold sesed on our skin signals the brain to dialate our capilaries to bring more
warm blood to the skin surface and warm us. That energy needs to come from somewhere. Part of it is
taken from your motion output and transformed into heat. Small price to pay methinks!

Gene

 

[Gene Cosloy]

[email protected] (mike s) wrote in message
news:<[email protected]>...
> "Al Kubeluis" <[email protected]> wrote in message
> news:<[email protected]>...
> > Hi Bikers, Been doing 40-60 milers in sub 32F and 20+ knot winds. Seems tough, but only hard
> > part is psychological, i.e., getting outside and starting. After 2 miles, all is wonderful.
> > Ironically, keeping from overheating is a problem. Zipping jacket and shirt help maintain
> > temperature. Motor cycle goggles keep eyes from watering and face warm. Wouldn't like to fix
> > flat in extreme cold, so cell phone and route with friends nearby is a caution taken on solo
> > rides. Try cold weather riding on clear roads. You might just like it.
>
>
> What I find makes the best cold weather defense is a balaclava. Normally wear the same layered
> clothing (yes, I wash it in between rides). Rode home yesterday in 28 degrees (not cold enough for
> you northerners but plenty cold for the southerners, and for me in St. Louis) and was working up
> quite a sweat. When I wear just normal head covering, even a Coolmax skullcap, I find it more
> difficult to stay warm. But with that balaclava covering the head and tucked into the jacket the
> only thing I need concentrate on is keeping the toes warm.
>
> As a sidelight, do any of you find your bike handles differently in the colder weather? I find my
> speeds are slower and I seem to work harder. I don't want to repeat the long discussion raised by
> Cletus about a week ago, but just curious as to your experience.

Yes this seems to be the case with me as well. the temp. needs to be 20F or less for me to notice,
however. Remember your General Science teacher/ He told you that energy is neither created nor
destroyed, it just gets transformed from one form to another. e.g. heat to light, or motion to heat.
In our case, the cold sesed on our skin signals the brain to dialate our capilaries to bring more
warm blood to the skin surface and warm us. That energy needs to come from somewhere. Part of it is
taken from your motion output and transformed into heat. Small price to pay methinks!

Gene

 

[John Pickett Al]

Cletus D. Lee <[email protected]> wrote in message
news:<[email protected]>...
> In article <[email protected]>, [email protected] says...
> > Hi Bikers, Been doing 40-60 milers in sub 32F and 20+ knot winds.
>
> Does 28° count? I had a 'fun' ride to work this AM. The wind chill at the local WeatherBug station
> down the street from my office was reading a 19° windchill.
>
> Yes, it does get cold in Houston sometimes. Tomorrows lows are expected to be in the low 20s in
> time for my regular Saturday ride.

I've been commuting 1 hour each way to/from DC now for a few years. I notice the cold much less on
my unfaired Tour Easy than on my old DF touring bike. I think this has to do with the fact that the
wind doesn't go down your back as easily and that I don't catch as much wind to begin with.

I wear boots with a fleece lining from Performance - these keep my toes warm with wool or high tech
fabric socks down to 20 degrees or so. I also have two kinds of lobster gloves. My cheapo Nashbars
are softer and not as warm as my Specialized ones, which I use for the clodest rides. For my torso I
wear two or three layers of clothing including a wind breaker on top. My legs get tights over bike
shorts. On the coldest days that becomes tights over tights or wind pants over tights. On my noggin
I wear a Head Gator, which can be arranged so that my glasses don't fog up. Below 30 degrees I add a
head band for my ears and forehead. Chapstick for the lips. Warm water in my bottle.

I am plenty comfortable riding and am thinking about a fairing. A much bigger concern is ice on the
road. Once you get over the hassle of putting all this stuff on, its actually quite comfoprtable to
ride in winter. I greatly prefer it to 100 degree Code red summer days.

 

[John Pickett Al]

Cletus D. Lee <[email protected]> wrote in message
news:<[email protected]>...
> In article <[email protected]>, [email protected] says...
> > Hi Bikers, Been doing 40-60 milers in sub 32F and 20+ knot winds.
>
> Does 28° count? I had a 'fun' ride to work this AM. The wind chill at the local WeatherBug station
> down the street from my office was reading a 19° windchill.
>
> Yes, it does get cold in Houston sometimes. Tomorrows lows are expected to be in the low 20s in
> time for my regular Saturday ride.

I've been commuting 1 hour each way to/from DC now for a few years. I notice the cold much less on
my unfaired Tour Easy than on my old DF touring bike. I think this has to do with the fact that the
wind doesn't go down your back as easily and that I don't catch as much wind to begin with.

I wear boots with a fleece lining from Performance - these keep my toes warm with wool or high tech
fabric socks down to 20 degrees or so. I also have two kinds of lobster gloves. My cheapo Nashbars
are softer and not as warm as my Specialized ones, which I use for the clodest rides. For my torso I
wear two or three layers of clothing including a wind breaker on top. My legs get tights over bike
shorts. On the coldest days that becomes tights over tights or wind pants over tights. On my noggin
I wear a Head Gator, which can be arranged so that my glasses don't fog up. Below 30 degrees I add a
head band for my ears and forehead. Chapstick for the lips. Warm water in my bottle.

I am plenty comfortable riding and am thinking about a fairing. A much bigger concern is ice on the
road. Once you get over the hassle of putting all this stuff on, its actually quite comfoprtable to
ride in winter. I greatly prefer it to 100 degree Code red summer days.

 

[Cletus D . Lee]

In article <[email protected]>,
[email protected] says...
> If my s.o is unreachable or just cannot bring the van to get me, I have asked the cab dispatcher
> to send a station wagon.
>
When I asked my wife if I got stranded, would she pick me up? Her reply was (before cell phones) to
be sure I had phone change to call a taxi.

The miniVan Taxis here have a plexi panel that is mounted behind the rear seat making it impossible
to fit a LWB inside.
--

Cletus D. Lee Bacchetta Giro Lightning Voyager http://www.clee.org
- Bellaire, TX USA -

 

[Cletus D . Lee]

In article <[email protected]>,
[email protected] says...
> If my s.o is unreachable or just cannot bring the van to get me, I have asked the cab dispatcher
> to send a station wagon.
>
When I asked my wife if I got stranded, would she pick me up? Her reply was (before cell phones) to
be sure I had phone change to call a taxi.

The miniVan Taxis here have a plexi panel that is mounted behind the rear seat making it impossible
to fit a LWB inside.
--

Cletus D. Lee Bacchetta Giro Lightning Voyager http://www.clee.org
- Bellaire, TX USA -

 

[Andy]

Station wagons are extremely rare in Eastern US.

"Robert Siegel" <[email protected]> wrote in message
news[email protected]...
> If my s.o is unreachable or just cannot bring the van to get me, I have asked the cab dispatcher
> to send a station wagon. My TiRush can be
squeezed
> into one. For my very occasional flats a cell phone and a cab has worked just fine for me.

 

[Andy]

Station wagons are extremely rare in Eastern US.

"Robert Siegel" <[email protected]> wrote in message
news[email protected]...
> If my s.o is unreachable or just cannot bring the van to get me, I have asked the cab dispatcher
> to send a station wagon. My TiRush can be
squeezed
> into one. For my very occasional flats a cell phone and a cab has worked just fine for me.

 

[Dave Is Here]

Al, When the weather gets cold I wear two pair of booties. I have some old sidetracks as my inner
pair and some belweather zip ups for the outside. Thin socks so as not to compress the feet.

I always have the option of having the foot warmers but they aren't needed as long as the temps are
moderate, say 15-20°F.

Thanks for encouraging me to write about cross training. Dave

"Al Kubeluis" <[email protected]> wrote in message
news:<[email protected]>...
> John, Chemical foot warmer inserts that hunters use are a must for me if ride is over an hour. Get
> shoe insert designed to accept these warmers and warmers at Walmart, etc.
> --
> Al Kubeluis ~ Bacchetta Corsa ~ Maryland ~ USA

 

[Mike S]

[email protected] (Mark V) wrote in message
news:<[email protected]>...
> I've gotten my minimum temp down to 18 F. The faring helps most! No cold feet at all. My problem
> is fingers. The USS is good because my hands are lower than my torso... blood flows downward
> easier I guess. However, at temps below 20 F the fingers have gone numb. I wear a fleece lined
> neoprene glove. Thinking of trying a mitten but like Mr. Goldberg mentioned, it will look as if I
> am hailing a taxi as that occasional SUV is the recipient of my international sign of contempt.
> Mark V. HPV Streetmachine GT Pennsylvania, US

Have you tried lobster claw gloves? I find them to be a nice compromise between mittens and gloves
with the ability to have some flexibility to work gears and brakes and yet keep groups of fingers
together for added warmth. And, IMHO, they look better than mittens.

 

[Dave Is Here]

Al, When the weather gets cold I wear two pair of booties. I have some old sidetracks as my inner
pair and some belweather zip ups for the outside. Thin socks so as not to compress the feet.

I always have the option of having the foot warmers but they aren't needed as long as the temps are
moderate, say 15-20°F.

Thanks for encouraging me to write about cross training. Dave

"Al Kubeluis" <[email protected]> wrote in message
news:<[email protected]>...
> John, Chemical foot warmer inserts that hunters use are a must for me if ride is over an hour. Get
> shoe insert designed to accept these warmers and warmers at Walmart, etc.
> --
> Al Kubeluis ~ Bacchetta Corsa ~ Maryland ~ USA

 

[Mike S]

[email protected] (Mark V) wrote in message
news:<[email protected]>...
> I've gotten my minimum temp down to 18 F. The faring helps most! No cold feet at all. My problem
> is fingers. The USS is good because my hands are lower than my torso... blood flows downward
> easier I guess. However, at temps below 20 F the fingers have gone numb. I wear a fleece lined
> neoprene glove. Thinking of trying a mitten but like Mr. Goldberg mentioned, it will look as if I
> am hailing a taxi as that occasional SUV is the recipient of my international sign of contempt.
> Mark V. HPV Streetmachine GT Pennsylvania, US

Have you tried lobster claw gloves? I find them to be a nice compromise between mittens and gloves
with the ability to have some flexibility to work gears and brakes and yet keep groups of fingers
together for added warmth. And, IMHO, they look better than mittens.

 

[Cletus D . Lee]

In article <[email protected]>, [email protected] says...
>
> Station wagons are extremely rare in Eastern US.

I think they have almost universally been replaced by minivans. (and that includes the Eastern US.)

Mr. Siegel is of another generation before minivans and he actually may have been referring to
minivans whene he used the Station Wagon term. Station Wagons were the SUVs of the 50s, 60s and
70s. The Chevy Surburban started out as a Station wagon on a truck chassis.

--

Cletus D. Lee Bacchetta Giro Lightning Voyager http://www.clee.org
- Bellaire, TX USA -

 

[Cletus D . Lee]

In article <[email protected]>, [email protected] says...
>
> Station wagons are extremely rare in Eastern US.

I think they have almost universally been replaced by minivans. (and that includes the Eastern US.)

Mr. Siegel is of another generation before minivans and he actually may have been referring to
minivans whene he used the Station Wagon term. Station Wagons were the SUVs of the 50s, 60s and
70s. The Chevy Surburban started out as a Station wagon on a truck chassis.

--

Cletus D. Lee Bacchetta Giro Lightning Voyager http://www.clee.org
- Bellaire, TX USA -

 

[Dave Is Here]

Hi mike, Hmmm do you think my co-workers might say: "Hey Dave since we notice that you seem so much
more debonair since you gave up your fleece mittens and now have lobster claw gloves." It might
be worth the effort.

Couldn't resist commenting, Dave

(mike s) wrote in message
>
> Have you tried lobster claw gloves? I find them to be a nice compromise between mittens and gloves
> with the ability to have some flexibility to work gears and brakes and yet keep groups of fingers
> together for added warmth. And, IMHO, they look better than mittens.

 

[Dave Is Here]

Hi mike, Hmmm do you think my co-workers might say: "Hey Dave since we notice that you seem so much
more debonair since you gave up your fleece mittens and now have lobster claw gloves." It might
be worth the effort.

Couldn't resist commenting, Dave

(mike s) wrote in message
>
> Have you tried lobster claw gloves? I find them to be a nice compromise between mittens and gloves
> with the ability to have some flexibility to work gears and brakes and yet keep groups of fingers
> together for added warmth. And, IMHO, they look better than mittens.

 

[Daniel Payne]

On 16-Jan-2003, [email protected] (mike s) wrote:

> Thinking of trying a mitten but like Mr.
> > Goldberg mentioned, it will look as if I am hailing a taxi as that occasional SUV is the
> > recipient of my international sign of contempt. Mark V. HPV Streetmachine GT Pennsylvania, US
>
>
> Have you tried lobster claw gloves? I find them to be a nice compromise between mittens and gloves
> with the ability to have some flexibility to work gears and brakes and yet keep groups of fingers
> together for added warmth. And, IMHO, they look better than mittens.

live long and prosper, spock

 

[Daniel Payne]

On 16-Jan-2003, [email protected] (mike s) wrote:

> Thinking of trying a mitten but like Mr.
> > Goldberg mentioned, it will look as if I am hailing a taxi as that occasional SUV is the
> > recipient of my international sign of contempt. Mark V. HPV Streetmachine GT Pennsylvania, US
>
>
> Have you tried lobster claw gloves? I find them to be a nice compromise between mittens and gloves
> with the ability to have some flexibility to work gears and brakes and yet keep groups of fingers
> together for added warmth. And, IMHO, they look better than mittens.

live long and prosper, spock