Originally Posted by bg4533

The comments about riding year round are easy for someone to say who lives toward the south. I ride year round in Ohio and while not the coldest place in the world the winters can be pretty bad. I rode a few days where the wind chill was -10f and many when there was lots of snow and ice. Fortunately my rides to campus are never more than 2 miles at a time and it rarely is over 8 miles a day.

About body armor, I just started riding XC, so I dont have a lot of experience. It seems a pair of shin guards could be helpful at times. Full finger gloves might also be useful. I think a helmet is all that is needed for most purposes though. So far I seem to do pretty well landing primarily on my feet when I fall.