Originally Posted by
Bikewolf
Another way to go about things is to leave your house already warmed up. It gives you a head start. E.g. warm glove liners.
This is my winter commuting strategy. Since I have a velomobile that is mostly enclosed (by next winter, it will be fully enclosed!), I go out first thing in the morning, set a space heater in the velo and put the manhole cover on to keep the heat in.
I go back inside, get dressed, get all my stuff together. This gives the heater a good 15 mins to get warmed up nicely. I climb in and get the cover on before I ever open the garage door. It's got enough airflow that in a few miles, it's cooled back to 'ambient' again, but by that point, I'm usually warmed up.
I just got my new winter bike shoes, added an insulated insole, and even at 12F, I was reasonably comfortable for my 5 mile ride in. The 12 mile ride home, it was ~22F, and my feet stayed warm, so I'm pretty happy with my current setup.