Cyclocross - Poor Man's Embrocation

I'm planning on doing my first cross race in early January and expect race conditions to be cold and damp. I've read that tights are a bad idea for racing because they just get wet and stay that way. The most common solution is some type of water-proof embrocation that also contains a 'warming' agent. I really don't want to spend money for a ready made product -- hard to find, have to pay shipping, etc. I was thinking about using absorbine jr. topped off with a little vaseline. Comments? Anyone have their own cold weather leg protection system?

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Hazelnut_hound

good question. I'd like to hear some thoughts to this as well.

wool tights, thats the way to do it...

Hazelnut- see you at Chickasaw I hope for at least a couple races of the series!!

I use either Tiger Balm or Icy/Hot and they work for me. Both widely available.

Alabama 'Cross Championship races are today (12-10-05) and I'm going "ride". I'll report back how it goes.

...and Yes. Wool tights would be nice.

Tmax1

I don't know if they still make them, but I got some wool kneewarmers from Defeet that are the same as their regular kneekers but made out of wool. They are definitely better in the wet than the regular ones.

Yeah, I'm a little late on this one ... what about Ben Gay and Vaselline? Works on the road.

jw

found this thread on a forum search. what are people using for embrocation these days? Cold weather is coming and I've never used anything before except tights. Also, do I need to shave?

I bought a thing of the greyhound juice (regular formula) and the stuff is persistent. I applied it before a morning training ride of about 90 minutes, and the post-ride shower was burning my legs.

Because of the price and inconvenience, I'm saving it for races only. Leg-warmers for training.

Do embrocations actually protect your skin from the cold? Or is it sort of like drinking alcohol in the cold? False warmth?

I use DeFeet wool knee warmers and wool socks. Even a good synthetic should still retain some heat when wet.

Do embrocations actually protect your skin from the cold?The point of BKW isn't to protect from the cold, but to keep your leg muscles firing. You are borrowing warmth from the rest of your body and transferring it to your legs, whose blood vessels are enlarged from a reaction to the BKW.

So you wouldn't want to use BKW if you were, say, lost in the woods overnight and trying to survive.

Icyhot will keep the muscles going, vasaline will keep the wet and cold out.. Works good for me and it's super cheap.. Just think, how much vasaline and icy hot can you buy for 17.00? :D

...Also, do I need to shave?

???