Cold weather advice thread

[Greenbelt]

I did a thread on this topic last year but too lazy to bump it so starting new.

I get a lot of questions on this, so here are some ideas, and others can add in/refute etc.

1. Slow Down a Little. My main advice for new winter riders is to add a few minutes to their commutes, on purpose. Just give yourself that extra 5 or 10 minutes so you can take your time when it’s cold or the weather’s poor. I’ve found that my main problems in winter usually have stemmed from trying to be in a hurry. Trying to ride too fast I get too sweaty and then chilled if I have to stop for a flat tire or something. Trying to be in a hurry and go too fast over an icy patch. Trying to be in a hurry around brain-frozen drivers who don’t expect cyclists when it’s cold because they would never go out in the cold like that and didn’t even bother to clear the frost off their windshield because it was cold and they’re late to drop their kids off at school, and so on.

2. Good Gear Pays Off. On short commutes, you can just throw on a coat and tough it out, but on longer commutes (especially if you’re as old as I am) having good quality gear is essential to being comfortable, which is, in turn, essential to being able to slow down a little and enjoy the ride. A “Buff” or two for face and head and neck, good boots or at least shoe covers (buy at least one size larger than you’d think), wool ski socks and base layers, extra-large bulky gloves that are easy to get on and off to grab a phone call or turn on your lights etc. I don’t usually use a winter jacket — I just use my windbreaker with lots of layers under. Generally a wicking layer (or two) a wool base layer, a fleece, then a windbreaker is plenty on top for me. Winter ride tights usually sufficient for legs. On really snowy or cold heavy rain days, I have Gore-tex rain pants and a Gore-tex jacket.

3. Get Dry and Stay Dry. At work, having a good place to dry your gear and shoes is pretty critical. Shoe inserts can help; boot warmers can help; lots of coat racks that you can hang gear on in a warm place somewhere at your workplace. Putting on still-damp clothes for the ride home is super chilling and just sucks. Always try to either bring dry gear or get it dry while you work. A sub-point on the dry thing, I usually bring a change of dry clothes even for group social rides, so that I don’t get chilled at the stop. Maybe I’m a bit over the top on that, but I could ride all day in the coldest weather if I could change into dry clothes often enough.

4. Hydrate. The air loses humidity in the winter, and just by breathing I seem to lose a lot of fluid. Insulated water bottles can keep room temp water from freezing for quite a long time. Mixing in some warm tea is also kind of nice. On the other hand, frozen water bottles are pretty worthless for hydration.

5. Don’t Suffer! If it’s too nasty, and you’re not feeling the whole adventure of it, better safe than sorry. Freezing Saddles is won by teams who don’t get sick or injured. So please don’t get sick or injured! That includes maybe hopping on the bus or Metro or working from home when it’s really horrible out. (But still get in your 1 mile sleaze ride, because that’s just essential…)

6. Practice your Snot Rockets in advance, on flat dry level ground, so you don’t swerve, with no one around. Check the wind. Please be polite around other cyclists — no one should ever see you shoot a rocket, it’s a private thing, never to be seen or heard by others. Or even see evidence of. A mis-shot snot rocket frozen stuck in a blob on your shoulder is sort of a mark of incompetence, not a badge of honor. So practice, practice, practice!

What else? -Jeff

Topic

[Crickey7]

Singing Broadway tunes aloud while riding is scientifically proven to help warm you up.

[huskerdont]

@Crickey7 183716 wrote:

Singing Broadway tunes aloud while riding is scientifically proven to help warm you up.

And keep you riding solo.

“We Sail the Ocean Blue,
And our saucy ship’s a beauty.
We’re sober men and true,
And attentive to our duty.”

[sjclaeys]

@Greenbelt 183704 wrote:

Generally takes about 10 replies before stuff gets weird. Maybe we’ve jumped the gun a little on this thread…

Well, SteveO hasn’t commented on his cod piece yet, so things can get weirder still.

[mstone]

My cold weather essential is a balaclava. Most of the time I have it pulled down away from my mouth & nose, but it keeps the ears & chin warm and (this is the big one, for me at least) keeps that freezing cold helmet buckle off of my skin.

[Judd]

@JamieJoy 183707 wrote:

I can’t bring myself to do the whole snot-rocket thing and I’ve never tried it…..my luck it will end up back on me. This is my first season riding through the winter, so maybe I jumped the gun, but I bought some winter boots today. Just didn’t feel like fussing around with covers and crossing my fingers that I bought the right type to keep my feet warm enough. I also got them for $100 off at The Bike Lane (last season close out), so that helped hook me. Hope they are a good investment, and not overkill. Thanks for all of the advice so far!

Also offering a pointless prize for best picture of a failed snot rocket.

Snot rocketing is an art that like all art is sometimes imperfect.

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[JamieJoy]

LOL on the pointless prize….the pictures would just gross everyone out! It’s just not in my DNA to try it, even though it would make my cycling life easier.

[Judd]

@JamieJoy 183725 wrote:

LOL on the pointless prize….the pictures would just gross everyone out! It’s just not in my DNA to try it, even though it would make my cycling life easier.

Maybe I’ll teach a snot rocket class this year. With practice and determination you will soon be pulling off advanced techniques like the Cross Body Snot Rocket, the Over The Shoulder Rocket Holder and the Double Barrel.

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[Judd]

@mstone 183721 wrote:

My cold weather essential is a balaclava. Most of the time I have it pulled down away from my mouth & nose, but it keeps the ears & chin warm and (this is the big one, for me at least) keeps that freezing cold helmet buckle off of my skin.

For the new riders, you can make your own balaclava for free at this Bike Arlington Balaclavas and Baklava event: http://www.bikearlington.com/event/balaclavas-baklava/

My go to balaclava is one that a friend made because of this event.

I’ll be there. If you see me, say hello. I’ll be the tall smiley guy wearing a plaid hat that says Lumberjack on the side.

[VA2DC]

@jrenaut 183680 wrote:

Parking garages are by far not the worst place to change a flat on a crummy day. I realize this isn’t always an option, but it’s a corollary of the “know your bailout route” rules. Keep a list of places you can get warm, change a flat, get out of an ice storm, etc.

I’d add a pair of latex gloves in your emergency kit to the list. If you do need to change a flat or do some other repair, they give you more dexterity than any sort of winter gloves. Since they don’t breathe, you get a bit of a wetsuit warmth effect while you’re working, and they block the wind. Plus, your hands stay clean and are ready to go back into your winter gloves when you’re done.

[LhasaCM]

@Judd 183731 wrote:

For the new riders, you can make your own balaclava for free at this Bike Arlington Balaclavas and Baklava event: http://www.bikearlington.com/event/balaclavas-baklava/

My go to balaclava is one that a friend made because of this event.

I’ll be there. If you see me, say hello. I’ll be the tall smiley guy wearing a plaid hat that says Lumberjack on the side.

It’s a great event. Will be a shame to miss it; we have a prior engagement on the 20th…
[ATTACH=CONFIG]18658[/ATTACH]

[LeprosyStudyGroup]

I would just like to request kindly that people actually stop doing snot rockets on public trails unless they make very very extensive efforts to first check that nobody else is anywhere nearby. Seems like one dickhead or another blows his nose all over me about once every other month or so. It’s not a good habit, and it shouldn’t be up to other people to make sure they are somehow not going to get a stranger’s bodily fluids blown onto their body or into the air they will be riding through in a matter of seconds.

[huskerdont]

Mechanics gloves also work if you don’t like latex. I keep a pair in my pack in winter.

[hozn]

@huskerdont 183741 wrote:

Mechanics gloves also work if you don’t like latex. I keep a pair in my pack in winter.

I like Mechanics gloves too. They’re great summer gloves. Those would be good for me down to about 55º I guess we’re all wired up differently!

[LhasaCM]

@hozn 183743 wrote:

I guess we’re all wired up differently!

I think that is the one notion I wish I’d remembered/been more cognizant of when I started biking more/year-round and set about acquiring suitable stuff. While a lot of the gear suggestions/tips are widely applicable, when they are applicable can vary greatly from person to person, so there’s potentially a fair amount of trail and error involved. And some things (for me, it’s lobster gloves) that may work great for a lot of people just may not be right for you.

So – with that in mind – the one generic thing I would suggest is that, where possible, try to shop at a place (a) where you can try stuff on and/or (b) that has a (semi)generous return policy in case you realize it just doesn’t work for you.

[dbehrend]

Two items that were game changers for me last year were a Seirus Neofleece Combo Scarf (when temperatures drop under 30 degrees) and Bar Mitts (for me, 20 degrees and under).

A tip I learned from a coach in middle school, that’s also been helpful, is to stuff wet shoes with newspaper and let them dry near the radiator. Depending on how wet they are you may need to swap out the paper. As previously mentioned, putting on wet gear is awful.

[Author]

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