I ride regularly throughout our Northeast Winters and always struggled to keep hands and feet warm. This year I finally figured it out although the set up isn't ideal for the beauty of riding a Riv but it works for staying warm. I wear Pearly's Possum Socks under waterproof boots (I could never get warm riding clipless so I now only ride flats). I then use neoprene shoe covers. Mine are now worn out so I am due for a new pair. For the hands I ride in Showers Pass waterproof wool gloves, they are very light and make it so you can still easily operate the controls. Then I have a pair of Bar Mitts for my handlebars. Again, not winning any style contests here but if anything, my hands were too warm and I had to vent them. I have heavier gloves that work as well but it's so hard to have the same ride feel with huge mittens on.
On Saturday, February 27, 2021 at 7:22:46 PM UTC-5 Patrick Moore wrote: > This reply is quite late to the party, but I thought the video attached is > worth sharing. The narrator has, I think, too rosy an outlook about what is > practically possible in North American cities, but he does show that cold > weather cycling is not, or ought not to be, a real barrier, tho' even he > starts tossing in qualifications for temperatures below -20*F (or perhaps > that is only -20*C, a wimpy -4*F). > > https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Uhx-26GfCBU&feature=emb_rel_end > > He describes Finnish cities as having more snow than Canadian cities, but > he never lived in Kebek, which gets or used to get an average of 13 > non-drift feet a year. Still, he's right about the cold; keep moving and > your are surprisingly warm. > > To add to the thread: We don't get very cold temps here; I've ridden 30-35 > miles in the mid-teens warming to the mid 20s, American Freedom Units (mile > high radiant solar heat), but much more often in the low to mid 20s for > 6-10 miles on the way to church; tho' in my hot blooded mid-late 20s I ran > and xc ski'id down to -20*F. One very basic principle I've learned to keep > extremities warm is to size gloves and shoes up for air gaps. I have > small-medium hands but buy XL gloves, one, so I can wear wool DeFeets > underneath, but mostly so that there is 1/2" of air between my thumb and > the end of the glove when riding into a 21*F headwind. The same goes for > shoes: extra room between big toe and end of shoe. > > I also like those Buff-type merino tubes that you can wear as neck > gaiters, COVID masks (doubled), and ear warmers under a winter ear flap > cycling cap; easier than scarfs, more versatile that scarfs and balaclavas, > and just as warm. > > One more tried 'n' liked for winter 2020-2021 is a very nice pair of > ex-Eastern or Mitteleuropa military spec (but complement your elegant > evening wear!) leather gloves with warm cloth lining that I got from a > Finnish army surplus outlet, sized 2-above in order to accommodate a pair > of in-themselves very warm DeFeet knit wool gloves with room left at finger > ends; the DeFeets themselves over a pair of thin silk liners were perfectly > warm at 32*F this morning. > > Oh, and I have experienced why old cycling jackets were made of knit wool > with nylon wind panels. IME, this is the best combination for cold weather > warmth with protection from wind. I've just found a tailor to, God willing, > alter and repair the 2 largely new '80s-vintage Italian jackets someone > very kindly gave me. > > On Sun, Jan 31, 2021 at 11:27 PM Roberta <rcha...@gmail.com> wrote: > >> Inspired by the wonderful cold weather rides and pics recently (and >> others, too, on Instagram), I decided I should not stop riding just because >> the temperature is below 60*. Yes, you read that right. Pre-Riv, when >> the weather got below 60*, I’d stop riding because it was “too cold.” >> >> Well, I’ve learned a lot here in the last 3 ½ years. Last year, I rode >> when it was in the 40’s. Yesterday and today, I was out in 32* and 27* >> temperatures, respectively, and it was glorious! I finally learned how >> to dress properly for cold weather riding. There were less crowds on >> the trail and I was more comfortable than when it’s in the 90’s. >> >> I highly recommend it! >> Also, how do you keep your toes warm? It was the only cold part of my >> body. I was wearing leather sneakers and cotton socks (only because I >> couldn't find my wool ones). Winter temps usually don't often go below 30*. >> >> Roberta >> >> > -- You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "RBW Owners Bunch" group. To unsubscribe from this group and stop receiving emails from it, send an email to rbw-owners-bunch+unsubscr...@googlegroups.com. To view this discussion on the web visit https://groups.google.com/d/msgid/rbw-owners-bunch/a90b7d05-f89f-4ce6-acf3-7789d22f76a8n%40googlegroups.com.
