Winter Cycling - Iowa Rice Sock Trick

Iowa Rice Sock Trick for warmth:
Heat a sock of brown rice for 3 minutes in a Microwave to provide 40 minutes of heat in your coat to Winter commutes (also keeps lunch warm in messenger bag). Also makes great neck warmer for watching those bike movies!

A cyclist's wife gave me a professional massage two Winter's ago. She brought a long athletic sock full of brown rice (sewn at the open end) over and threw it into the Microwave for three minutes to warm her hands so that it would not be a shock to my sore neck muscles… she later gave me the sock for my neck to support it while watching TV.

This simple sock heated for 3 minutes at high and place between a rain shell and a sweater turns a cold ride into a near dry sauna experience even at - 7 degrees F with high winds… lasts for about 40 minutes and also feels good around the neck after the ride. Worth a try if you have no Winter riding jacket or left your Assos jacket it at the Tavern!

--you may want to use a dark colored sock though or one that has a football team or other logo in case this object becomes lost! It can be used over and over again. Add Lavender or another aromatic if you do not like the smell or brown rice!
--Robert the Bike

Or you can stuff it down the front of your pants, and make all the ladies wonder if you have a sack of brown rice in your pocket or you are just happy to see them! :D

I have been using this trick for years as an alternative to a heating pad. I never thought of bringing it on the road with me. I will have to try it. Thanks for the tip!

Kat

This is great...never heard of this....permit me to ask a really stupid question....I assume you are talking about uncooked rice!

Oh come on...it was a little funny!

Hmm... hot cooked rice in a sock... warm and yummy in a pinch!

Huh,
I have a microwaveable heating pad, never thought to use it riding. It's an idea I could warm up to...

Iowa Rice Sock Trick for warmth:
Heat a sock of brown rice for 3 minutes in a Microwave

Hi, i noticed that you distinctly chose brown rice over any other rice.
Is this because one brown rice has more insulation than say an one enriched long grain rice or jasmine rice? seems like the shape of a single brown rice (like that of corn) allows more space or air around it as well as inside to create more insulation.
:)

OFF topic, i had a horrible experience once soaking brown rice for about 2 days thinking it would be perfect to cook... so i boiled it for 10 minutes, and the most vomit inducing godawful smell came out when i took the lid off...
DO NOT TRY THIS
it was so bad that I suffered trauma for the next year.

off to make my terry sock neck warmer
-=steve

I guess I should clarify that the rice should be DRY when it goes into the sock!!!

Please don't try this at home with wet rice (and please use a clean sock too)!!!

Perhaps other rice can also be used… perhaps even instant rice or rice-a-roni… don't waste your money on Organic Rice though… in Iowa most of our foods are bioengineered so 'organic' is usually considered here as too 'West Coast'/liberal/Communist/etc.…. and is hard to find!

I think pound for pound brown rice does work better, smells nutty, perhaps also pulls moisture out of the raincoat and back into the little rice pieces….and is cheaper than say Wild Rice!

--and yes… I too had a bad experience with letting wet rice stay around a bit too long… Incident: Rice left in Rice cooker for three days with power turned off… opened the top and probably had a similar aroma therapy experience…. Looked like wisps of cotton candy too…



Cheers and Happy Friday bike folks... looks like most of you are out on the NE Coast or New England Area… hope you have a great Fall/Winter riding season.

We had nice cool rainy skies here for several days and a clear weekend with 69 degrees Sunday shaping up!

Some legitimate sites on the internet suggest the sock may help with a variety of pysical isues from helping with Parkansins Disease to eliminating headaches….but also failed to provide adequate warnings regarding using cooked/uncooked, brown or other!!!!

Someone even wrote and ode to the Rice Sock:

This little pillow filled with rice
Is such a comforting device,
Microwave for 2 to 3 minutes on HIGH
And kiss those aches and pains good-bye.
Apply it to a troubled spot
The heat will ease the pain a lot.
Or warm those little toes, so cold.
You'll find this nice to have and to hold
Or freeze it for awhile,
And fix that boo-boo in style.
Instead of a compress made of ice,
Use this pillow filled with rice.

--from

http://www.recipegoldmine.com/crafts/crafts50.html

Hmm--I guess inversely it can be used to provide 'cold' in the Summer???

Easy to make or buy for $15 bucks and you can see a picture of a fancy sock to help with Labor pains at:

http://www.family4life.com/Images/ricesock.htm

3 patents pending (which is almost absurd!)

-perhaps we could put a patent out for a bRICEycle Sack (TM)
--oh yes... it also works for warming up the foot of the bed on cold nights...

I do not have any Iowa rice. Can I use California rice?

don't waste your money on Organic Rice though… in Iowa most of our foods are bioengineered so 'organic' is usually considered here as too 'West Coast'/liberal/Communist/etc.…. and is hard to find!

That's an unfortunate sentiment. I can get organic brown rice in bulk at my local grocery co-op, so I think I'll do that. In bulk it's pretty cheap. The organic seems better to me. Even though I won't be ingesting it, I'll know that the growing of the rice was better on the environment.