Tuesday, January 22, 2013

Winter biking

Gentle readers, if you haven't been outside yet to day, you may not yet be aware that it's hella cold outside today. Days like today make me really glad I impulsively bought those ski goggles on SteepandCheap earlier this year. As a Conquer the Cold Celebrity Commuter, I've been thinking more about winter commuting this year. Gentle readers, do you have any winter commuting advice for frigid days like today? What do you do when the mercury dips below 0? Do you give up on biking and walking, or do you have special strategies for getting through the cold?

5 comments:

  1. 1. Spin needlessly low gears to increase exertion (generates warmth) and decrease speed (good for staying upright on snowy roads and reduces wind chill).
    2. Hands. I wear mittens with a Gore-Tex shell and rag wool inserts.
    3. Feet. Neoprene booties.
    4. Ears. Gore-Tex balaclava
    5. Other. If you're not wearing windproof gear from top to bottom, you might want to consider stuffing a plastic bag down your pants. (not kidding)

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  2. About once a year I'd think "this is too cold to bike, I'll take the bus today."

    I'd get all bundled up because I knew I'd have to wait at a stop without any protection from the wind or cold, then I'd walk too fast to the stop (sometimes it's early, and if you miss it then you're half an hour or more late to work), get sweaty from the exertion and layers, then be waiting in that wind and cold. After waiting ten, or twenty, or an hour and twenty minutes, the bus would show up with it's heat turned up to eleven, bringing on more sweats.

    This experience, once or twice a year, was all I needed to help me deal with bicycling in the cold the rest of the winter. I put some of those hand warmers in my bag and made sure to have hot tea in a vacmug in case I really got into trouble with mechanical issues or something, but wind protection and continuous exertion is all you really need.

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  3. http://kk.org/cooltools/archives/8316

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  4. I've been wandering around the foothills of Colorado and because of decreasing temperature within the state, we barely meet with our bicycles. But the state has been very supporting that there's still a bike tour of colorado for the summer days. As usual, all are foothills and a great scenery of mountains.

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  5. Well, what I am doing to fight coldness of the environment is to turn on first the heater of our house. Doing some strenuous exercises or activities is also one of the things that's keeping me warm throughout the cold days.

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