Tuesday morning could be coldest day in D.C. in 20 years

[cyclingfool]

@jrenaut 73832 wrote:

My bike had no trouble with shifting and whatnot. My frozen fingers, however, were not performing with their usual nimbleness.

Bar end shifters FTW! Limited dexterity/nimbleness required.

[jrenaut]

@cyclingfool 73841 wrote:

Bar end shifters FTW! Limited dexterity/nimbleness required.

I do too much of my riding in DC and don’t like to take my hands off the brake hoods very often.

[TwoWheelsDC]

@jrenaut 73832 wrote:

My bike had no trouble with shifting and whatnot. My frozen fingers, however, were not performing with their usual nimbleness.

I am now a BarMitts convert and evangelist. Today I wore my regular winter gloves, which usually leave me with chilly fingers at about 30 degrees, and my hands were sweating this morning. Even last night, just wearing my fall/spring gloves, my hands were toasty. Can’t believe I waited this long to get a pair (thanks in-laws!).

[jhr]

I replaced my eggbeaters with platform pedals this morning so I could wear insulated winter boots, and my feet were very toasty. My fingertips were cold, though. I guess for this type of weather I really need heated gloves or pogies, but I don’t think I can justify it for a couple of cold days per year.

[jrenaut]

@TwoWheelsDC 73844 wrote:

I am now a BarMitts convert and evangelist.

Yeah, I keep thinking I should get some. Definitely would have helped today.

[jabberwocky]

Since I made a last minute switch to the fixie (which has bullhorns) I couldn’t use my moose mitts. Pulled out my ancient burton snowboarding gloves, which are awesome and warm but have zero manual dexterity. Fortuitously, fixies don’t require much in the way of dexterity.

[NicDiesel]

@jrenaut 73846 wrote:

Yeah, I keep thinking I should get some. Definitely would have helped today.

BarMitts are great, these are probably my favs – Dogwood Designs Pogies. They’re good down to -20 or so.

[Jason B]

^^^^
Bar Mitts are the best. I could wear fishnet gloves today and still be seating. I just don’t understand why my hand felt warm, yet my neoprened, wool socked and linered feet were frostbitten.

[jabberwocky]

One pair of light socks, two pair of wool socks and my Northwave Celsius Arctic shoes and my feet were good. Really, the only things that were cold were my legs (a tiny bit) and the exposed parts of my face.

[guga31bb]

I also overdressed and even stopped at the top of the Custis corkscrew to take off my outer jacket. Apparently 3 wool layers and 2 jackets was a bit much. I guess it’s better to err on the side of too much clothing than too little, though.

[Amalitza]

@Steve O 73836 wrote:

I ignore the wind chill number, because as a cyclist, there is always wind chill. We make our own wind. So however you dress for 25 degrees that works, is actually correct for 15 or whatever the wind chill value is for the wind you make.

..

This is most definitely not true for me. Wind matters, a lot. (though it is true that tailwinds are significantly more comfortable than head- or crosswinds).

Possibly that just means I need to ride faster, of course…

[Riley Casey]

Five layers on top and two layers below worked well for my short commute. A balaclava would have been a help as the only real chink in the armor was above my glasses – my lower forehead was a bit cold when riding into a headwind but aside from that no technical attire was required. Even my hands fared well with knit gloves under hardware store canvas and leather work gloves. This evening without the encouragement of the sun may be a bit less fun I suspect. The warmth of the sun is indeed appreciated on days like this. I have read that arctic circle natives will cover exposed skin with seal grease to protect against the wind. May have to blow off some extra lip balm experimentally tonight.

[mstone]

@Riley Casey 73858 wrote:

I have read that arctic circle natives will cover exposed skin with seal grease to protect against the wind. May have to blow off some extra lip balm experimentally tonight.

Bacon!

[jhr]

@Riley Casey 73858 wrote:

Five layers on top and two layers below worked well for my short commute. A balaclava would have been a help as the only real chink in the armor was above my glasses – my lower forehead was a bit cold when riding into a headwind but aside from that no technical attire was required. Even my hands fared well with knit gloves under hardware store canvas and leather work gloves. This evening without the encouragement of the sun may be a bit less fun I suspect. The warmth of the sun is indeed appreciated on days like this. I have read that arctic circle natives will cover exposed skin with seal grease to protect against the wind. May have to blow off some extra lip balm experimentally tonight.

I’ve heard of people using petroleum jelly for this.

[ShawnoftheDread]

@TwoWheelsDC 73844 wrote:

Can’t believe I waited this long to get a pair…

Heh.

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