Originally Posted by
5 mph
I am a new rider but I am in deep. I haven't missed a single day since early March of this year. I ride 20 miles a day and I am really addicted and get antsy about noon if I haven't ridden yet. It doesn't get real cold out here in the Pacific Northwest but what it does do is rain tons and tons and lately the temperature drops to the high 30's. At times it's a pleasant feeling as long as you have a tight nylon jacket on but unfortunately there isn't much you can do for your shoes. Unless you want to wear ridiculous 5 pound mountain climbing boots, you will always end up with cold soaked feet and sometimes they are so numb , they hurt and you have to warm them up slowly in a tub of warm water when you are done.
Also I haven't run into ice yet but it's a definite possibility. What do you do then? I suspect I will walk.
You need more PNW riding friends to talk to. The first thing is to go online or to a dive shop and buy a pair of dry suit replacement leg seals. Cut the small end down to fit your ankles, or if you're at a dive shop ask them if that's what one does. That's what I've always done, but maybe it's not necessary. The leg seals go on your bare ankle above your socks, with the big end down. The big end then goes over your MTB boots or booties and your tights pull down over the leg seals.
For socks, the best I've found are DeFeet Woolie Boolie socks.
To finish the outfit, buy a pair of Lake or Northwave MTB cycling boots. I think Shimano also makes them, but I haven't tried those. My wife and I have ridden 75 miles in 36° and continuous pouring rain with this gear and still had dry warm feet. As they say, this changes everything. You don't mention your hands, but I've had good results with Giro 100 Proof gloves. This was handed down to me by a fellow rider with the Seattle International Randonneurs (SIR) -
https://www.seattlerando.org/
What I do about ice is stay away from it. If it's frozen the night before, I don't go out until the temperature is over 40° and even then I stay down close to sea level and keep a close eye on the road surface, which is really limiting, but . . .a friend went out when it was still too cold and broke his collarbone.
The other thing I do when it's cold out is to ride my resistance rollers. Actually I do that a lot in winter, maybe a couple thousand miles/year on them. It's so much quicker than riding outside: getting dressed, changing clothes when I get back, doing all that laundry, cleaning and lubing the bike. I'll do another 30 miles on them today.