Bicycling in Cold Weather

Mark Hickey

wrote:

FWIW, last time I did a ride in that temperature range I wore shorts
and a short sleeve jersey, with half-finger gloves. My fingers did
get a little cold though. ;-)

Let me guess. The temps were in that range for only *part* of the ride, say in
the mountains perhaps? Alternatively, it was a very VERY short ride. ;-)

Regards,
Bob Hunt

wrote in part:

I want to bicycle at casual speed for 5 to 10 hours a day in
temperatures 20F-35F.

Why? That's not a smart aleck remark but a serious question. Are you talking
about long recreational rides with infrequent but planned stops? Stop and go
"city messenger" style riding where you can pop indoors and warm up almost at
will? MTBing in remote areas where the only heat available for miles is the
body heat you generate? What works for one ride environment may not work
another. As one who has ridden at both 20F and 35F, I'd say you've specified a
fairly wide temperature range. Your "5 to 10 hour a day" is an even wider
time/distance range.

Regards,
Bob Hunt

(Hunrobe) wrote:

Mark Hickey

wrote:

FWIW, last time I did a ride in that temperature range I wore shorts
and a short sleeve jersey, with half-finger gloves. My fingers did
get a little cold though. ;-)

Let me guess. The temps were in that range for only *part* of the ride, say in
the mountains perhaps? Alternatively, it was a very VERY short ride. ;-)

It was a fairly short ride - I was in Colorado, at about 9,000 feet.
I got up before dawn and dressed for what I thought was the weather
I'd encounter (being very quiet because we were in a "lodge situation"
and didn't want to wake everyone up).

I stepped outside dressed as described above, and as I was prep'ing my
MTB I noticed that there was still frost on the ground. Hmmmmm, must
be a little colder than I thought it was. I took off, and it WAS
pretty "brisk" for the first half mile or so, but since I was climbing
fairly soon it wasn't long until I was plenty warm. Not toasty, but
comfortable enough.

I rode for about an hour, and got back to the lodge. I put the bike
away and noticed that the thermometer was still below freezing. The
only thing that had really gotten uncomfortable was my fingers, and
them only mildly.

But I'd have dressed a little warmer had I been going out for a five
hour ride... probably would have thrown on a light vinyl jacket and
full-finger gloves. Anything more than that and I'd be uncomfortably
warm. YMMV.

Mark Hickey
Habanero Cycles
http://www.habcycles.com
Home of the $695 ti frame

In article , Mark Hickey
writes:


I rode for about an hour, and got back to the lodge. I put the bike
away and noticed that the thermometer was still below freezing. The
only thing that had really gotten uncomfortable was my fingers, and
them only mildly.

But I'd have dressed a little warmer had I been going out for a five
hour ride... probably would have thrown on a light vinyl jacket and
full-finger gloves. Anything more than that and I'd be uncomfortably
warm. YMMV.

A half hour from shelter is not too far. Would have become a popsicle if you
had broke down. Of course you could stay warm jogging while carrying your bike.
For awhile. Eventually hypothermia would get you. I'm always shocked how cold
my skin is under the vinyl jacket when I finish. Now as the temperature drops
I keep a change of sweats and fleece jacket nearby to go to as soon as I
finish. Feels so good. I guess everything is ok as long as the core temp stays
up.

Mark Hickey wrote:

FWIW, last time I did a ride in that temperature range I wore shorts
and a short sleeve jersey, with half-finger gloves. My fingers did
get a little cold though. ;-)

But the guy was talking about a *5-10 hour* ride in those temps.

This is a different situation than the typical couple hour
training/workout or commute ride.

What's comfortable for me for an hour or two is not necessarily
so 5+ hours later! Hands and feet in particular.


SMH

Bill Baka wrote:

OK, I am serious now. Get dressed as above then ride about 5 miles near
home and find out what your thermal balance is. I usually find that
after a few miles of pedaling I am overdressed and it is nice to be able
to stop at home and drop off the excess clothing. Just don't ride to far
from a warm place, in case your bike breaks and you can no longer keep
up the balance of heat generated versus insulation needed. Five miles
should get your metabolism to where it will be for the rest of the ride.
Experiment, but try to err on the safe side.

Actually, this brings up another consideration for long duration
cold weather riding: breakdowns and weather changes.

The OP was talking about 5-10 hour rides. Don't know if this
is all at one time or a cumulation of stop and go, cool and
warm segments, but at 25F and even 30F, which I no longer
regard as especially cold, you can have a rough time trying to
change a tire, or even re-adjust a cable. It will definitely
take you longer than during the warm months, and you'll likely
cool down while so involved.

Weather can end up getting colder during such a long ride, and
you could easily require more warming layers than when you
began. Hands and feet will almost certainly be the make/break
considerations for such duration winter expeditions on the bike.

I don't think there is any harm in over-dressing for such a ride,
especially if you dress in layers, and have some place on the
bike to stash stuff you don't immediately need.


SMH

SMH wrote in part:

I don't think there is any harm in over-dressing for such a ride,
especially if you dress in layers, and have some place on the
bike to stash stuff you don't immediately need.

It seems a lot of folks think they can get
away just with things that will fit in their jersey
pockets even for 5-plus hour trail rides
through the Colorado mountains.
Personally I am sick of babysitting mr jersey
pockets and inititiating nighttime search and rescue
missions on his behalf.

Robert

Subject: Bicycling in Cold Weather
From: (R15757)
Date: 12/12/2004 4:03 PM US Eastern Standard Time
Message-id:

SMH wrote in part:

I don't think there is any harm in over-dressing for such a ride,
especially if you dress in layers, and have some place on the
bike to stash stuff you don't immediately need.

It seems a lot of folks think they can get
away just with things that will fit in their jersey
pockets even for 5-plus hour trail rides
through the Colorado mountains.
Personally I am sick of babysitting mr jersey
pockets and inititiating nighttime search and rescue
missions on his behalf.

Robert

I ride with a Trek rear trunk rack and a specific bag for it...great
compartments, lots of zippers, etc etc. No worries when you everything there. I
am not gonna ride around with tons of stuff in my pockets when i can do it this
way.

ospam (whinds) wrote:

In article , Mark Hickey
writes:

I rode for about an hour, and got back to the lodge. I put the bike
away and noticed that the thermometer was still below freezing. The
only thing that had really gotten uncomfortable was my fingers, and
them only mildly.

But I'd have dressed a little warmer had I been going out for a five
hour ride... probably would have thrown on a light vinyl jacket and
full-finger gloves. Anything more than that and I'd be uncomfortably
warm. YMMV.

A half hour from shelter is not too far. Would have become a popsicle if you
had broke down. Of course you could stay warm jogging while carrying your bike.
For awhile. Eventually hypothermia would get you.

The only time I've ever really worried about hypothermia was while
cross-country skiing. When it's 10 degrees F (-12C) I'd be wearing
long tights and a long-sleeve thin polypro T-shirt, with a windbreaker
tied around my waist (start out wearing it, but overheat if I leave it
on). I'm always soaking wet due to the sweat (XC skiing IS a great
workout, after all). Once I broke a binding and had to walk back to
the car - it was only a mile or two, but it's not hard to see how it
would become a problem if the hike was a lot longer.

I'm always shocked how cold
my skin is under the vinyl jacket when I finish. Now as the temperature drops
I keep a change of sweats and fleece jacket nearby to go to as soon as I
finish. Feels so good. I guess everything is ok as long as the core temp stays
up.

My problem with riding with wind-proof jackets much above freezing is
that I simply get soaked under the jacket. Net / net, I'm not as
comfortable or warm as I'd be without the jacket. I've done a couple
rides recently in the low 40's with a wind jacket, and find it's OK if
I'm taking it easy, but horribly uncomfortable if I'm going hard.

I should mention that I carry the jacket in my pannier when it's cold
out, so if I do have a breakdown in the middle of nowhere I can throw
it on. I should also mention that I'm more comfortable in the cold
weather than most people who live in Florida or Arizona (where the
heavy coats come out at ~60 degrees F - 15 C). ;-)

Mark Hickey
Habanero Cycles
http://www.habcycles.com
Home of the $695 ti frame

Stephen Harding wrote:

Mark Hickey wrote:

FWIW, last time I did a ride in that temperature range I wore shorts
and a short sleeve jersey, with half-finger gloves. My fingers did
get a little cold though. ;-)

But the guy was talking about a *5-10 hour* ride in those temps.

This is a different situation than the typical couple hour
training/workout or commute ride.

What's comfortable for me for an hour or two is not necessarily
so 5+ hours later! Hands and feet in particular.

That's very true - I would never start out on a century ride at
freezing temperatures with shorts and no jacket. The coldest century
I've ever done was in Florida (believe it or not)... it was an
organized century, and we got a late start, and were playing catch-up
with the rest of the pack. It was about 40 degrees F (+5C) at the
start. I didn't wear a jacket, and was cool for the first few miles
since the pace was fairly easy for some of the folks in our group, and
we were riding into a huge headwind (welcome to Florida). Before too
long, I ended up in a group of hammerheads and I was toasty for the
rest of the ride, especially the return half with the wind blowing us
28-30mph all the way back.

Mark Hickey
Habanero Cycles
http://www.habcycles.com
Home of the $695 ti frame