winter cycling

[jags]

So lads winter cycling what's your take on it  love it or hate it, either ways if you want to keep the legs in good shape you gotta do it.
we all have the necessary  winter keep warm and dry gear so what stops you going out the door on a wet cold windy morning 

[Danneaux]

...winter cycling what's your take on it...

Necessary evil. Well, not really, but by personality, nature, and preference I am what the late author Ray Bradbury would call a Summer Person rather than Autumn or Winter. If I could, I would reside in Southern California's San Diego County year-round, but that isn't in the cards at present. I like to ride, I am here, the bike is here, and the weather is...whatever the weather is, so off I go -- into the teeth of the storm, if the mood strikes me. And "not" if it doesn't.

So much of my ability to enjoy winter riding depends on having adequate clothing and protective gear. I am eager to try my new Louis Garneay neon-yellow/reflective coated stretch lycra helmet cover, but may have to add a neck flap or gutter to it so my jacket collar doesn't fill with the runoff.  Some "lobster claw" Gore-Tex overmitts still going strong from 1982 do for the hands (over some Maulden Mills synthetic knit gloves if it is really cold). I would have an awfully hard time of it if I didn't have, take, and use my coated nylon pack-cloth toe clip covers. These things make it so much easier to avoid numb toes and beat the pants (so to speak) off using plastic bread wrappers inside my shoes. If i can just stop the wind, I do pretty well in temps down to the single-digits F/minus teens C so long as I am working. Fleece, a couple pairs of tights (nylon wind tights over wool, perhaps under rain pants) and I'm set below.

Even when I'm ready-to-go, a stopper can be the bike and the thought of cleaning it afterwards. Andre did touch on the truth when he joked about my having duplicate bikes -- one for "working" and one for photography and show. In the winter months, I really do tend to center on one bike to get dirty, leaving the others for more salubrious weather. The thing is...I don't leave the dirty bike really dirty after a ride. I ride it knowing when I return, I've got a cog-flossing ahead, a chain re-oiling, rim-wiping, and general cleanup to do, so I find myself asking if the ride is worth the effort (about 90% of the time the answer is "Yes"). I'm beginning to think the Nomad might be the most ideal bike in my stable for this purpose. The "gearing" is enclosed, I have only a single chainring and cog to deal with, and there's no derailleur cage to scoop up the road-glop. For years, the answer has been to use mudguards with a generous front mudflap, and I plan to continue. I also plan to install a slightly cut-down rear fender on the front in the manner of old-time French constructeurs. It looks a bit odd but makes so much more sense and keeps one much, much drier. This worked great on my "other" randonneur bike and I have been meaning to do the same on the Nomad.

I don't mind light snow, but the stuff we so often get here starts as powder that clogs the mudguards and stalls the wheels, then turns to wet snow and really does that job right. Ice can be a problem unless one uses studded tires...and then the usual car traffic becomes even more problematic when they don't (bike lane becomes a runoff area for those drivers committed to poor planning and cell phone usage when it is icy).

Really heavy rain is just miserable, but I would never let it stop a planned-for tour and I can't see huddling in the tent all day to wait it out. It rained a good part of the five weeks I was on-tour in The Netherlands and Belgium, and I wouldn't have missed it for the world. It felt like a privilege in the Ardennes, Spa, and Francorchamps...the mist hung heavy and full amidst the trees and added a softness to it all. Further west, the sheets of rain made Liege and Huy look like an Impressionist's work. I think it helps to have an optimistic nature and a good attitude. After ten hours of so of it a day, I could still marvel to myself "Dan! This is Belgian rain...not the usual Oregon stuff!". Even if one has to adopt a siege mentality, you know it isn't forever. A hot shower or a warm-dry sleeping bag n a snug tent at the end of the day does wonders for restoration.

what stops you going out the door on a wet cold windy morning

Hmm. I don't know if the lack is enough to be a stopper, but I surely need a good pair of shoe covers and my 30+ year-old Giordana winter wool tights are threadbare and in desperate need of replacement. Having them fresh and new would make it so much easier to go out, but the lack won't stop me.

I've also ridden enough and long enough to know missing a day or a week won't impact my fitness level much. There was a time back in my uni days (when I was riding 8,000-12,000mi/13,000-19,000km annually like clockwork for club sports) when I felt like I was being disloyal to myself if I missed a day. Even rode with a diagnosis of walking pneumonia, and that's just crazy. It took me awhile at the time to see that, and I've been "free" ever since. Go if I want, don't if I wish, but make sure it is fun in some way or don't go at all. It's about balance when I'm riding from home. On-tour is a different story, when I'm working with a given timeframe for completion, reservation dates, fixed times to destinations or diminishing food and water supplies. Then, it isometimes means Press On Regardless. Again, it's about balance and doing what needs be as case, time, and circumstance dictate. Given my druthers, I'd rather sit out the worst of the weather in a snug-warm house. If I can't...then I make it an Adventure and go with the flow.

All the best,

Dan. (Actually looking forward to winter in spite of myself. Autumn color on the trees, then snow and a whole different world...and Spring is coming again...)

[jags]

Dan i remember the first time i wore my new very expensive assos winter jacket, the guy in the bike shop that sold it to me swore i only needed a base layer under it no matter the weather
well i put it to the test on a cold winters day, about 5 mile into the ride it started to snow heavy and a strong cold wind straight into my mush  face
 honest to god i could not get the smile off my face i was toasty warm inside my new super duper jacket but warm and all as i was  i turned the bike for home I'm no hero
i still have my assos jacket hanging in the closet I'm to bloody fat  to ware it comfortable these days .

[Danneaux]

I'm to bloody fat  to ware it comfortable these days...

There's no such thing, Jags! The "proper" phrase is...

"It's still early in the training season, and more appropriate with greater fitness"...!  

Works for me! (the fool clothes shrink in storage, I swear they do!)  

All the best,

Dan. ("Training" is a useful term for many things...)

[JWestland]

For wet and not that snowy Norn Ire:

Gore Tex thin jacket, with baselayers if needed.
Roubaix cycling long leggings/work trousers
Cycling cap, helmet if snow or suspicion of ice
Gore Tex big fat downhill gloves (hmmm toasty warm...)
Overshoes/Waterproof trousers if bucketing down
Shawl/fat socks if really cold (2 winters ago brrr ice cold winds)

And in case of black ice, I am working from home or having to resort to taxis/public transport that is the only thing I can't abide. Two cycling scars is enough!

Ow, bike wise: They will all do, but if really bad the fixie will stay home or go back to single speed. Fixed, have to unclip fast while leg in wrong angle is no go 

And of course more cleaning/lube needed in bad weather...

[jags]

yes that lot should keep all the bad stuff at bay, but do not go out when theres ice about your asking for troble,or am i just a wimp

[Andre Jute]

Generally speaking, I don't cycle in even mildly foul weather, because I always have time to wait for it to clear, and I have difficulty bending to dry my bike off, never mind do a proper job cleaning foul weather muck off it. But I do have an exercise schedule for my heart and doing five days on the trot in my gym can become old pretty fast. So far desperation hasn't driven me to do anything stupid more than once, when I went out on an apparently sunny day and, fortunately on an uphill section, hit black ice. It did me no harm -- I just put both my feet on the ground (the advantages of the mixte-style crossframe include a very low stopover) and slid back downhill until there was traction again, but the driver of a big Audi I stopped to warn, who paid no attention, came to expensive grief there.

Normally I cycle in track suit bottoms or khakis or corduroys, whatever I'm wearing at my desk. In winter I have graded long johns, with itchy angora for the coldest weather. It has to be really cold before I wear even a T shirt to cycle, as I prefer workmen's brushed cotton shirts, cotton sweaters, and a cotton jacket. On icy mornings at dawn I ride in a padded leather jacket. My saddelbag contains lightweight rainwear, but I've never once worn it -- I'm rarely further than an hour from home, almost never more than 90m, so I just get wet and change at home. I have more of the same hanging on a clothestree devoted to my cycling gear, but on the few occasions I've worn it for heavy rain, I've been too hot. I've found plastics to be great though for keeping you warm when the temperature approaches zero, especially if you're not in a hurry and can regulate your speed by your body temperature, but on the whole I prefer the cotton multilayer approach.

I have a fleece, new, that last year did sterling service on a couple of really cold rides, but generally I don't like these sweaty, smelly poly-somethings that are sold to cyclists as especially for them.

I have the usual Goretex gear but don't like it much. The mountain gear is too bulky, cycling-specific gear too fiddly. What I like for a rain jacket is a cheap yellow "breathing" plastic jacket, no vents even (I cut some with a paper punch under flaps it has apparently as a fashion feature, because the zips do up one-handed and it is so cheap (no Assos chez Jute!) that I don't mind the oil that fifteen years of service inevably put on it. My second fave cycling and indeed walking jacket is a cheapie from Lidl, but it has proper storm flaps, even if they aren't properly stiffened for one hand zipping.

Often I've wished for the seagoing gear I just left on various yachts back in the day... that stuff was far superior to even the most expensive cycling gear you can buy.

One item I had high hopes for was a Dutch cycling cape, which I imported at great expense. Don't waste your money. Your legs will get wet and the wind will blow you all over the landscape and sooner or later you will take a tumble because you've lost bike control while trying to control the cloak. Passing trucks will jerk you around lethally.  Wearing a cycling cap is a learned skill best learned in your teens.

Andre Jute

[6527richardm]

Living in the UK if I want to continue cycling year round I have little choice but to go out in winter weather albeit it generally never gets too cold it is more about trying to keep dry.

I always carry a Gortex jacket that fold up small and does a good job of keeping me dry and can also act as another windproof layer. I also use good quality cycling tights with windblock on the legs and again they do a good job of keeping the wind out. Like Dan I use lobster gloves over another pair for the really cold weather and they have been worth their weight in gold.

On the top I regulate the heat by putting a number of layers sometimes up to four plus the waterproof.

For me the biggest problem is keeping my feet warm I splashed out on a pair of Shimano winter Gortex boots but frankly they are hopeless they somehow manage to keep the cold water around my feet so that by the end of a wet ride I just have cold icy water in my boots (even with overshoes on) which is not ideal.  What do others do to keep the feet warm?

[rualexander]

I like winter cycling, wet and windy conditions are not nice but otherwise it can be great, keeping hands and feet warm is important and sometimes a challenge though.
Its the only time of year that I get to enjoy night riding as it starts getting dark by four in the afternoon and usually have the last hour of a sunday run in darkness with the lights on which is a great experience.
For snow and ice, winter studded tyres make a huge difference.

This thread reminded me of a video I made a couple of years ago which I have uploaded to youtube http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zzTxmdAvT0I
The observant will note that my cycling partner is on a Raven Tour.

[Danneaux]

...reminded me of a video I made a couple of years ago...

Well, this is simply marvelous, Rual, and such a professional job, too (even the titles match the theme)! I felt like I was right there with you...minus the cold, the wind, the sleeting snow....

Can you tell us what camera setup you used to take this? Really steady reasults.

I'm going back for another watch-through! Thanks for sharing this with us, Rual!

Best,

Dan. (YouTube at the computer is a pretty good way to cycle in the cold of winter -- without the cold or winter or, um, bicycle!)

[rualexander]

Thanks Dan,
The video was taken with my Canon S3is camera either handheld or attached to handlebars with Gorillapod, the snow helps to smooth out the road bumps!

[jags]

Wow that video was great ,can't say i've ever ridden in those conditions not likely to either 
but makes for great viewing.

as for keeping the feet warm , i will bath my feet in hot water dry off really well  talcom powder  two pair socks one of which is thermal the other on top is sealskinz then altura over shoes that usually does the trick  hands i just ware a good pair of warm gloves thermal.

[JWestland]

I have SealSkin winter socks from Merino Wool, I got a thorough soaking this Monday and they are only shower proof, but my feet weren't cold. That was NI rain though so not the ice cold stuff you get in some places.

Going to pair them with a set of Eager Spatz (calf length) and see how that works.

There are big winter boots/cycling shoes 2-1 for sale too in some places like Spa Cycles.