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.
I'm exactly the same way in the cold: cold hands, cold feet, most everything else stays reasonably warm. Shoe covers and serious gloves are the key for me, but I can't ride outdoors anymore when the temps reach much below 40 degrees. I wrote about my typical winter riding gear here, with some recommendations:
Dress in layers. I always take ski gloves, GLOVES, because my fingers get cold the quickest. Wool or smartwool socks. Slip a newspaper (do they make those anymore?) over your chest under your jacket for headwinds, fold up and stick on back rack for no winds (not likely in winter, of course!). If you get cold, ride up a hill.
For motorcycle or ski goggles, yellow lenses work best on dismal days. They provide better dimension perception in snow and makes you feel 10 degrees warmer because they make every day a sunny one.
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.
Wow. Didn’t know that about flax seeds. Amazing what natural foods can do, eh?
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.
I'm exactly the same way in the cold: cold hands, cold feet, most everything else stays reasonably warm. Shoe covers and serious gloves are the key for me, but I can't ride outdoors anymore when the temps reach much below 40 degrees. I wrote about my typical winter riding gear here, with some recommendations:
https://thediabeticcyclist.substack.com/p/cold-weather-cycling-gear
LIGHT WEIGHT LAYERS
1. Super lightweight poly or wool base layers. These are not expensive and you can buy them at any outdoor place.
2. A vest, jacket or gilet. Again, lightweight.
3. Wool socks. Neoprene booties for road.
4. A couple of long sleeve jerseys or super lightweight fleece tops.
Put on 1, 4, and 2 in that order. You can easily handle weather in the 30’s.
Dress in layers. I always take ski gloves, GLOVES, because my fingers get cold the quickest. Wool or smartwool socks. Slip a newspaper (do they make those anymore?) over your chest under your jacket for headwinds, fold up and stick on back rack for no winds (not likely in winter, of course!). If you get cold, ride up a hill.
These are all great suggestions! Keep ‘em coming.
For motorcycle or ski goggles, yellow lenses work best on dismal days. They provide better dimension perception in snow and makes you feel 10 degrees warmer because they make every day a sunny one.