[Brett L.]

@drevil 170747 wrote:

I just spent an hour roaming my ‘hood, looking for rideable ice. I did some laps in a small stream that was frozen over, but my wife was hating the idea of me riding around the edges of Lake Artemesia, so I skipped it (begrudgingly)

I wish I had time to get down to C&O to check it out and ride it, if possible. It’s such a cool feeling biking on ice.

Considering it still had open water as of Monday, I think that’s a good idea to avoid it…..

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[Brett L.]

@Swanics 170637 wrote:

With this weather I found that I also need to get thicker gloves now!

Bar mitts or moose mitts. I can’t recommend them enough. I’m riding around in just some light neoprene gloves and a light shell, and my hands are cozy. And my hands are NEVER cozy in the cold

[Brett L.]

@dbb 170635 wrote:

Removes easily and the shoelaces can hold dollar bills (somebody else’s). Kind of like a bad BAFS stripper movie. Not sure I will be able to unimagine this.

I disliked your post because now that’s in MY head.

[Brett L.]

So yeah, face was perfectly happy this morning with ski goggles, not happy with commute home sans ski goggles (yellow safety glasses instead). So I went over to Costco and got the Bolle ski goggles I mentioned earlier. Face will be happier tomorrow.

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[Brett L.]

On a related note….. Costco is selling Bolle ski goggles with both dark and light lenses for relatively inexpensive (at least in world of ski goggles). If tonight’s ride is uncomfortable, I’m going to be tempted to head there….

[Brett L.]

@Tania 170555 wrote:

OK, so where does the smartwool layer come in? Bike shorts > smartwool > tights? In my case, the bike shorts cover all the cold bits that might be ameliorated by the smartwool so that layer’s not going to do much.

Ideally, you would want the most breathable layers closest to skin. Skin > bike short > smartwool > tights > windshell (if tights don’t have wind protection). Some smartwool layers have a windstop built in (basically a plastic liner in between layers), so that’s not necessarily bad for an outer layer either. I’d also look to make sure all layers are comfortable – if they’re too tight, they can restrict blood flow and make you colder than without. I would suggest that if you’re in doubt between two sizes, size up instead of down.

[Brett L.]

@Tania 170550 wrote:

All of my tights are chamois free but I’ll wear padded bike shorts under them.

This

[Brett L.]

@Emm 170545 wrote:

Do you need clear goggles to bike at night? I have yellow ones at home I think, but I never use them since I start and end my day in the dark this time of year. I keep considering ordering clear goggles for days like today, but then not doing it. I was ok this AM, but I really didn’t like the cold air that got to my eyes around my clear safety glasses. It definitely caused me to tear up a bit. Avoiding that feeling on really cold days might be worth it.

You ask a great question that I’ll soon find out the answer for. I don’t really know. My goggles only have the one lens (dark). I generally ride with yellow safety glasses at night (in warmer conditions) which I brought to work today as well. I might be using those tonight, which should at least have higher temperatures than this morning. A quick google search indicates some people love and some people hate riding at night with yellow lenses, so I’d give them a try and see if they work for you!

[Brett L.]

Loved busting out the ski goggles this morning. Not certain I was any warmer because of it, but I found the huge benefit was the lack of fogged glasses when coming to stop lights. I think the bottom rim of the ski goggles seal the balaclava such that my breath doesn’t go into the lenses. Zero fog, absolutely wonderful!

[Brett L.]

I quite enjoy my Smartwool tights. Rode this morning with Endura leg warmers on underneath the smartwool tights and my legs were fine. With your softshell ski pants, that should heavily cut the wind, so just insulation is what you need. Can’t go wrong with wool.

Now if only I could solve my cold feet issues……

[Brett L.]

I think last year there was an alternative scoring system (Badass points?) that gave extra points for rides on colder days and fewer points on warmer days. Assuming the code is still intact, I imagine this alternative scoring system will still be around this year. This week is a great opportunity to get ahead in that system.

[Brett L.]

@Sunyata 168906 wrote:

Seeing as I was on that team… This is very VERY tempting! 😎

[ATTACH=CONFIG]15802[/ATTACH]

[Brett L.]

@accordioneur 168848 wrote:

I vote -100 points every time a Midwesterner gets haughty about how we don’t have “real” winters in the DC area. Let’s face it – the fact that y’all’s ancestors didn’t have enough common sense to settle somewhere warmer isn’t anything brag about.

P.S. -200 points if they’re from Michigan.

Silly Midwesterners. They don’t know “real” winter. Come north to Canada and I’ll show you REAL winter!

[Brett L.]

@Emm 168176 wrote:

If he was on an ebike or a motorcycle like thing, flag them so he loses the KOM. That’s a perfectly valid reason to flag rides.. Ebikes have their own Strava category, and are not supposed to be categorized as bicycles.

That would sting him more than any accident or curse!

[Brett L.]

@closebr 168271 wrote:

Let’s admit it, how many of us would have been able to pass all the cupcakes, pastries, and macaroons on M-Street without stopping? These are highly trained, focused triathletes we’re talking about, not undisciplined, hungry commuters that can’t go three blocks without a coffee, beer or pastry.

Beer? There’s beer? Where’s the beer?

[Author]

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