i have the lakes too. i bought them before i had access the the collective wisdom known as bike forums though, so i got my regular size which means they are snug. they're great... to about 0 celcius, but then my toes start to suffer. i've suffered a fair bit this year actually; i now have sore spots on almost all my toes that i think might be symptoms of frost-nip...

in terms of the circulation question though: i recently went to a foot doctor for an unrelated problem. i mentioned that i was having trouble with cold feet, well actually she felt the ice block that were my toes for herself. she showed me how to "test" the circulation in my toes by squeezing them with her fingers and then noting how long it took for the colour (blood) to return. she said that with good circulation the colour should return almost instantaneously... i've noticed after some rides it takes up to 10 seconds for all the blood to return!! there's not much that can really be done about the issue at this stage, but i know now that i'll have to be extra cautious and that i'm not just being "soft" when i complain about cold toes... there really is a legitimate reason why they get cold so easily!!

i recently bought a package of chemical warmers, which worked well, but i don't like the extra expense/waste. sometimes ya gotta do what ya gotta do.

i also noticed that my feet are often really sweaty (not just when biking), even though they are cold, which makes them even colder. i have yet to try foot powder, but someone around here mentioned that might help. i looked for smartwool socks at mec yesterday, but they didn't seem to have any. i bought another kind of wicking thermal socks that will hopefully fit in the lake shoes, and a thin liner sock to try as well. i guess i'm kind of rambling... hope that makes sense!