Well, friends, I think winter is eminent. Mother Nature has certainly been giving us a reminder that it is in fact December (insert dry laugh here). We have been enjoying some mild, great riding weather lately. I will admit, though, that this past weekend was a bit windy (ok, a LOT windy). Yesterday morning, however, the temps dropped pretty significantly on us with the real feel being 28 degrees. I found this out as I commuted into work today by bike. First, I noticed frost on the grass. Yes, frost. I noticed some frost on the windshields of parked cars too. Boo. The ground was wet and I couldn’t tell if it was slippery black ice or just wet road. So, you can imagine that it was a slow ride into work yesterday. I also noticed that sunrise is getting later in the morning. GRRRRRRR. My 5:30 AM departure is made with Mr. Moon still high in the sky. Don’t want to tangle with a piece of metal weighing over a ton on my ride either. Done that already once this year. I’ll pass on the seconds on that one. So for safety, good lights (all 6 of them) are key on a commute like this. By the time I make it to work, though, it is actually bright out and the sun has risen.

But enough about the weather. That’s what weather.com is for. And I dont want to bore my readers. Today’s blurb is about cycling clothes. With the onset of colder temps, for the cyclist, it means adding a few more layers and making sure your feet and hands stay toasty. For me, this translates into an extra 15 min of getting dressed. And if you are me, you have an extra 5 min on TOP of that, just bc you can’t find where you put this arm warmer or that wind-proof bootie.  As you can imagine, it leaves the cyclist — or al least those who arent good at planning ahead (e.g. me)–rushing around trying to get dressed and out the door in the same amount of time it takes her to kit up in the summer. Riding in the winter takes means extra time putting things ON. When getting ready for the chillier ride, I used to often find that I sometimes fell victim to a common mistake that I have heard some cyclists make. I wear too many layers of clothing bc I fear being cold. Cold in the downhills, cold riding into the wind. While this excessive layering may sound like a good idea, you may end up sweating a lot, and your clothes become drenched, especially if not all the material is wicking. A mere stop at a traffic light can be torturous as you start back up on the bike again and the wet clothes feel like ice against your chest and legs. Never mind trying to jam on a couple of pairs of gloves and socks to help keep the hand and feet warm. I’ve done that. You can actually reduce blood circulation in your feet inside your shoes. This can be just as painful as the occasional frozen toes and burn of a mild case of frostbite.

So I had talked to a friend, Tyler, who is also a pro cyclist, some years back about he thought was the appropriate amount of clothing for winter. He always gave me the advice to wear a good, WICKING base layer (I like Smart Wool or Craft), under my winter kit and make sure I have good leg warmers, arm warmers, gloves, a thermal cap, and booties. A jacket/thermal vest is great if super cold. But layering a bunch of base layers (especially non-wicking ones), a couple of shirts, arm warmers, leggings, AND jacket on top of that, will just make me sweat, then freeze. I should leave my house with enough clothes to keep warm but still be a bit chilly. I will warm up enough when I start to ride. This advice is pretty sound as it worked the last three years. I use Hot Balm (Sports Balm) cream to keep my leg muscles warm and hand and feet warmers (I like Grabber Hand/Foot warmers) to keep from freezing my fingers and toes off! A good pair of wind-proof gloves and booties will also help.

I heard that snow may be a possibility on Sat. Dang. Not what I want to see interrupt my weekend of riding. Maybe the weather people are mistaken.

Dress smart, be warm and see you on the road!

Thanks for reading!