Baby, it's cold outside.
Searching for the best cold-weather gear. Asking for a friend.
In February, I wrote myself a note.
“Friggin cold with lots of head wind. Note to future self: invest in some cold weather gear, dude. Seriously.”
Have I?
Nope.
And it’s getting colder outside. (However, today the temps reached into the 70s. Typical Ohio weather.)
Riding in the cold feels so badass. It’s like flipping the bird to the weather gods, and I always smile inside when someone tells me I’m crazy for riding in the snow and sleet.
But, also, I don’t do it as much as I’d like. And this is mostly likely because I don’t have the right gear. I always overdress. (Because it’s cold dammit!) I wear two or three layers of socks. I wear big gloves. Leg warmers. Long johns. Under Armor base layer. Jersey. Ugly highlighter Pearl Izumi jacket. Ski cap.
But it’s only cold, really, for the first part of the ride. As soon as I climb the first, second and third hill, I’m about ready to ride naked. But, of course, I can’t do that unless I want hypothermia.
Every time I’m putting these clothes on for a ride, I think:
There’s gotta be a better way. And I know there is — I just don’t want to spend the money on this stuff. It’s probably not too bad. Somehow I have it engrained in my head that this gear is for the wealthy.
It’s also a big guessing game. How much do I put on? I know I’ll get warm after a few miles. I don’t put that much on for every cold ride. But I do when it’s super cold.
My toes and fingers suffer the most on these cold riding days. I don’t have the booties that people sometimes wear. My shoes are everything but waterproof and windproof. They literally have holes in them because they’re designed to be worn in warm weather.
So sometimes I slip my feet into a plastic bag, and then put socks on over them. That seems to do the trick because the warmth from my feet get trapped inside.
I haven’t figured out how to keep my fingers warm though. Maybe I’ll try finger warmers this winter.
And so, I turn to you all now. I know there are wise people, in this little community, with years of experience. How do you, fellow cycopaths, keep your toes and fingers warm during frigid rides? What is an essential buy?
Is there a good “winter” shoe? Is there a good pair of socks that seem to do the trick? Are there special gloves that keep the wind from biting so hard?
Please comment!
I use homemade hot pads inside my gloves when temps are single digits or below. My wife sewed some cotton rectangular envelopes, I filled them with whole flax seeds and she sewed them shut. I heat them in the microwave for 40 seconds, pop 'em in my gloves and my fingers are toasty for about an hour. Watch the MW timer because the cotton will catch on fire if heated too long! These replace the use-once iron oxide heating pads. On the same subject, adding milled flax seeds to my morning oatmeal reportedly increases blood circulation to my extremities, so flax seeds are a double heater.
I also wear motorcycle goggles. My eyes water in cold winds and I don’t like my eyelids freezing shut on a fast downhill. Use anti-fog solutions inside the goggles because steamed lenses are almost as bad as frozen lids.