Cold weather advice thread
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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
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Bar Mitts are the Bomb for surviving Freezing Saddles!!!
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