Road Cycling - Tour through rain and snow

Next weekend (3 days long in Canada), I will be riding the tour called Golden Triangle through the Rockies. Three days, ~ 110 km per day. The forcast predicts rain, showers and maybe some snow. I wonder if there are some recomendations how should I protect myself from the water and from the cold? More specificlly, I wonder how efficient are booties, GoreTex lobster gloves and helmet covers. I will have good pants and a good jacket with some layers underneat on me. Is there anything else I should think about? Obviously, this is the first tour of the kind for me. Thanks,

D.

Definitely layer- those lobster mitts are a good job, and if you can find any (if you don't have a pair), they will be stupid cheap right now. Booties are a good job too- they definitely keep your feet warm and dry, except in torrential downpours.

Check out the winter cycling forum for ideas on how to deal with the layering. We have a ton of threads about layering for winter.

For the forecast, it may be a good idea to wait until a couple of days before to check the forecast. It's never totally accurate, and it's even less accurate when it's more than a few days before the days you look at.

Koffee

you can also use mentholatum on your legs and arms if you start off in shorts, keeps you warm. If you dont have room for all your clothing a trash bag will work to repell the rain, folds nicely in your saddle bag and doesnt take a lot of room...
Good luck, have fun and be safe :)

you can also use mentholatum on your legs and arms if you start off in shorts, keeps you warm. If you dont have room for all your clothing a trash bag will work to repell the rain, folds nicely in your saddle bag and doesnt take a lot of room...
Good luck, have fun and be safe :)
PS I also agree with Mr Brown :)

Get booties, good gloves, that helmet cover, and a good jacket with air vents. You won't regret them. Pack all your stuff in plastic bags in your panniers, trunk bag, and handlebar bag.

Well cold weather and precipitation are excellent hypothermia conditions. You don't want to fool around with hypothermia.

I would recommend getting at least an inexpensive rain jacket (you know one of those really cheap ones that you can wear over your cycling gear).

I have found that whenever I ride in mountains, you can get freezing rain any time of the year on a mountain pass and having a rain suit handy is a good idea. I have an inexpensive nylon suit that I got from performance years ago. It does not breathe worth a darn but it does keep me warm in cold, rainy weather.

I tend to layer. It is more flexible then having some ultra warm clothes because it is easy to over heat on a bike if you have something a bit too warm.

I tend to use things like balacavas under the helmet to keep my head warm. On the hands I like using polypro glove liners (1 or 2) and a thin glove or mitten over them if it is decently cold. Just plastic shoe covers are nice for keeping the feet warm and if it is really cold - neoprene booties. For the legs, I use up to 2 pairs of tights and up to 2 jerseys on the thorax and in extreme cases a light jacket also.

The tour two weekends ago was fantastic! Here are some pictures. As you can see no snow, no ice, no rain, just fun. Thanks for all your responses.

The tour two weekends ago was fantastic! Here are some pictures. As you can see no snow, no ice, no rain, just fun. Thanks for all your responses.


Are you familiar with how much those pictures make me want to move out west??

BTW, the black spot next to the road on the picture No. 8 there is a bear. I was wondering passing by should I stop ahead or speed up. Well, the bear did not care.