I'd like to suggest that we have a winter bike gear "fashion show." We all have our techniques, favorite pieces of clothing, tricks, and tips. Every year this topic comes up, and we all write in with our ideas.
In order to keep the biking energy going in the less-than-ideal biking season, it would be fun to trade tips in person. Just pick a night/place and grab a section of the restaurant/bar. Earlier in the week and earlier in the evening might make it easier to find a chunk of unoccupied space at a bar. When I have held classes on how to bike in winter, I always get the ringers anyway: those that already bike in winter, and come to show off their gear. Since the weather isn't that cold yet, we have time to plan this and try to lure in the folks that tend to store the bikes when the first flakes fly, the AM temps are below freezing, or the daylight is gone after work. Maybe we can shoot for the week before Daylight Savings Time ends - the first week of November. Thoughts? Robbie Webber Bike Walk Madison Steering Committee www.bikewalkmadison.org Join our group on Facebook! On Mon, Sep 27, 2010 at 12:17 PM, India Rose Viola <[email protected]> wrote: > Diane, > > Great questions. Here are my thoughts/opinions: > > It's important to have a wind proof barrier for hands and feet. It's also > important to be able to maintain circulation- which means making sure your > mittens/gloves and shoes/socks are not too tight. you may need to make a > conscious effort to wriggle your toes, bend and flex your ankles, wiggle > your fingers and change hand position on the handlebars every minute or so > in order to keep the warm blood flowing to your extremities. Also, if your > core isn't warm, your body won't bother trying to keep your hands and feet > warm- it has its priorities. So make sure you are warm from head to neck, > from neck to waist, from shoulder to wrist... you get the point. One less > obvious gear choice for keeping your hands warm is studded tires. With > studded tires, you are able to ride on packed snow and ice without the fear > of slipping and falling and you will be able to hold the handlebars more > loosely- leading to warmer hands. > > In the winter I wear water proof hiking boots (admittedly quite expensive) > that are large enough for me to comfortably wear medium-thick wool socks > underneath. My feet stay warm... but my commute is much shorter than yours > (5 miles each way). That said, sometimes I have a bit of a cold start and > usually get warmer as I pass the 2 mile mark. > > I do recommend the "lobster"-style gloves for your hands. For the coldest > of cold days, they need to be made for cycling and not other outdoor > activities (running, x-country skiing) that have increased hand movement and > less exposure to driving wind. The same glove that will keep your hands > warm on a -30 degree day on a windy bike ride will be too warm for anything > much warmer than that. I usually bring at least 2 pairs of gloves on my > commute with me- sometimes 3- light, medium, and heavy weight- because my > hands sometimes get warmer/colder during my ride, and the day often starts > out one temperature and finishes at another. Make sure you have a good > place to dry out all of your gear once you are at work (or other > destination). Turning gloves inside out can help. Bringing a change of > socks is a must. If I start to get overly sweaty during a ride I try to > take the time at a red light to shed extra layers. Wet clothes, no matter > what they are made of, are at best uncomfortable, at worst aiding and > abetting heat loss. My favorite technical fabric is Merino (or other soft) > wool. Hands down (I know, some folks can't wear wool- and others just > prefer synthetics). > > If you have more specific questions, I'd be happy to send you specs of the > gear that I use. Unfortunately a lot of it is several seasons old and may > not exist as the current brand/model. > If you tell me what you currently wear on your hands and feet during the > coldest weather I may be able to send you some more ideas. > > Bear in mind that different people have different experiences of the cold. > I tend to run "warm", so I usually try to add extra layers to my > recommendations to other people. Although advice from other experienced > cyclists can be extremely helpful, this is an issue that has a unique > solution for each individual- i.e. each person needs to experiment and find > out what works best for them. > > Good luck in staying warm on your bike all winter! > > -India > > > On 09/27/10, Diane <[email protected]> wrote: > > > Hi India, > > > > I have yet to make one of these rides and meet you. I saw this topic out > awhile ago and wanted to attend, but I have to ride back to Waunakee and > didn't plan well enough today to make it. > > > > So, maybe you can help me out with my problem from last winter?? - I bike > 12.5 miles to work. I bought some awesome PI pants last January, but I just > can't seem to solve my foot dilemma. A friend suggested I cut the sleeves > off a down coat and make "booties" out of those and use those under my duck > boots - I haven't tried that yet. Wool hiking socks work well to about 20 > degrees, but lose effect afterabout 30 minutes.. > > > > Fingertips are also a problem - I am thinking about buying some of those > split gortex gloves. > > > > Thanks, > > > > Diane > > > > ---- India Rose Viola <[email protected]> wrote: > > _______________________________________________ > > Bikies mailing list > > [email protected] > > http://lists.danenet.org/listinfo.cgi/bikies-danenet.org > -- > India Viola > Stretton Lab > 115 Zoology Research > 1117 W. Johnson St. > Madison, WI 53706 > 608.262.3336 > > "How can we learn from our mistakes if we don't first acknowledge them?" > -Anonymous > _______________________________________________ > Bikies mailing list > [email protected] > http://lists.danenet.org/listinfo.cgi/bikies-danenet.org >
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