12-11-2004, 04:34 PM
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#16 (permalink)
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| | Re: Bicycling in Cold Weather
>I want to bicycle at casual speed for 5 to 10 hours a day in
> temperatures 20F-35F. How should I dress? This is what I think:
>
> 1. Wicking base layer
> 2. 100 wt fleece top
> 3. Waterproof shell
> 4. Midweight running tights
> 5. Warm streamlined winter boot/shoes
> 6. Woll socks
> 7. Fleece hat
> 8. Windproof gloves
>
> Is this ok? I don't want to freeze and I want to have a comfortable,
> painless ride.
You've gotten a lot of good advice so far, but one thing glaringly missing
is that, on a ride of 5-10 hours, the danger of blowing it (in terms of
dressing appropriately) are substantial. If you're doing a shorter ride
(say, 2-3 hours), you're never more than an hour and a half from home, so if
things don't work out, you turn around and head back, and suffer mostly from
temporary discomfort.
But if you're four hours away from home, and haven't planned a bail-out
option ahead of time, things could get very bad very quickly. In my
experience, you can ride comfortably in cold weather for extended periods of
time if everything's right (the clothing, how hard you're working, lack of
wind, etc). But changing conditions even slightly can result in a
less-than-pleasant experience... what felt so nice before suddenly becomes a
terrible nightmare. And once things get bad, it seems to take your body a
very long time to recover when things get nice again... if it recovers at
all.
--Mike Jacoubowsky
Chain Reaction Bicycles
www.ChainReaction.com
IMBA, BikesBelong, NBDA member
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