tsl

Yow! Winter coat? No wonder you're overheating.

I find that heat management presents the same problem at all but the single-digits and lower. That is, I have to dump heat to stay cool. The only difference between 20°F and 90°F is how much heat I need to retain. Even at 20° I have to dump plenty.

First, the stuff that stays the same from about freezing on down. Feet get ordinary crew socks and Lake winter cycling boots. Hands are double-gloved with summer-weight long-finger cycling gloves inside Cannodale Windfront gloves. That's a winter-weight cycling skullcap from SweatVac under the helmet.

In the upper photo, that was a nice, long Sunday ride. I recorded in my BikeJournal ride log, "Weather Conditions: Mostly sunny-->Mostly Cloudy, 34-->32, winds calm-->ESE @ 5" Meaning it clouded up, got cooler and the wind picked up as I rode that day.

On the upper I was wearing a baselayer, then my BikeForums.net Great Lakes Region jersey tops it all off. To provide the second layer on my arms, I wore armwarmers. I was doing hill repeats that day, so I knew I'd be working up a sweat (and I did). For just noodling along, I'd have put on another layer.

On the lower I wore cycling shorts with kneewarmers and a plain old pair of uninsulated, non-windproof Nashbar tights over that.

My wardrobe changes only a little bit for commuting. That day, my BikeJournal says, "Weather Conditions: Snowing, 32, winds N @ 6" So it was pretty warm that day too. I would have had a short-sleeve t-shirt over a long-sleeve one on top, and the hi-viz windbreaker/rain jacket from AlertShirt.com topping it off.

The 30s are the toughest for me. I need an extra layer--another t-shirt--in the 20s. In the 30s, I don't, unless it's windy or damp. Plus conditions change. It's hard to tell until I get out on the road. Also my commute is short, 10-15 minutes, so I really can get by with less usually when I'm commuting. This sort of throws me off on longer rides.

But winter coat? I haven't worn one in two years.