Originally Posted by Ferdinand NYC

I hate riding in the winter. For me, riding in the summer is a joy, and riding in the winter is a chore. But I do it in order to keep in shape.

I ride every day that it doesn't snow or rain -- we've been lucky in that regard the past two winters, after a 2010-11 winter with lots of snow. The obvious problem is keeping warm; for me, the problem is greatest at the hands and face.

I wear sometimes as many as four pairs of gloves at once: two thin woolen pairs, a pair of winter gloves, and a white woolen pair over everything. (I always want my outer gloves to be white, so that my hand signals are most likely to be noticed. In summer I wear white baseball batting gloves; in fall and spring I wear two layers of white-ish work gloves.)

For my head and face, I wear a bandana and a hood under the helmet; and then I wrap my neck and face with as many as four scarves.

I have less trouble keeping my trunk warm. Near the bottom of my many layers of shirts, I wear a small sweatshirt and a small jacket, over which I pile other shirts, culminating with a hooded sweatshirt (I mentioned the hood earlier) and a pullover poncho-like garment that is meant to be rainwear. I discovered by accident that this non-porous top layer keeps the warmth in very well.

I have no trouble keeping my legs warm; they are the last thing that gets cold. I just wear two layers of compression shorts and then normal gym shorts.

That's good for temperatures down to freezing. For days that are below freezing, I have a large lined sweatsuit that I wear over everything that I have already mentioned. With that get-up, I have ridden in temperatures as low as 11 degrees.

You mentioned that you don't have much time to ride. But maybe you can ride to and from school. I ride to and from work, turning my commutes into workout time, and sparing myself the necessity of going back out to go to a gym after coming home from work (which I would surely slack off on). I accumulate only 20 miles a day that way; but it's enough to keep the weight off and to keep my discipline up.