Winter
 

I'm sitting here wearing the fleece jacket, over my sweatshirt and thermal bike shirt, and a wool stocking cap. And wool socks. It's 63 degrees. I'm ready for summer.

Shut up and ride.:) It's nice too see you at least get a taste of what we get up here.

The past 7 years I have been to the peninsula in August and it's always 90 with 100% humidity. I still threaten to take my kids with another Chitzen itza trip, the last one was 110 degrees and very humid.

At 63F, I normally wear arm warmers with my regular shorts and jersey.

It will be a while before I see 63F, though... it's 3F right now, although it should get up to 16F or so by mid-day.

This is a good season to wear some of my vintage jerseys. A couple of them are fairly heavy, help keep me warm, and take less effort to care for than my wool jerseys.

Steve in Peoria

Life is tough, izznit? I'm looking at 15degF and 5in of snow and ice with more on the way for Saturday. :D

Dude. It was colder than that in my house this morning. Outside, it's -9°F with a wind chill of -20°F. Warmer than yesterday, though…

I just got my winter warrior bike ready for today's commute--a Specialized HardRock with studded Schwalbe tires.

-8f here which is warmer than the last few days. I'll take it because when the days are long here it is beautiful outside. Better deal than gallons of sweat and huddling in the AC at 8pm in June. Taunt away...

No taunting here. I find it amazing, actually. I once walked among you and worked outside year round in SE Ohio. But with 14 years in the tropics under my belt, I've adapted to a new paradigm. Mid 90s and high humidity don't bother me anymore. Win some. Lose some.

At least we are supposed to get to 69 today in Phoenix. It's horrible out there. ;-) JK, The weather and riding are great, cool enough to not get too hot but not cold really. On the flip side, ride here in July and it's 105-115 and you better lug a backpack of water.

I'd fry like an egg wearing all that at 63 degrees.

We're raining with expected high around 47 today, and personally, I find the darkness more heavy as a ride spoiler than the wet. When it's dark out I just want to hybernate and it requires great, extreme effort to even go out. Ugh.

Sixty three degrees is perfect for me. Enjoy and nice to hear learned the art of wearing layers.:thumb:

I had to start wearing socks a few days ago.....it's in the mid 60's......brrrrrr

Around here you don't get to acclimate. Wild swings in temperature and humidity. I find 65-68 perfect temp for riding.

I'm in Oklahoma - where this time of year it can approach 70 degrees F some days followed up the next day by temps in the 20's and 30's ---

I know thats not serious cold for some of you --- but if it was 65 the day before --- it really messes with your head -- and the wind never ever stops

http://i62.photobucket.com/albums/h8...80C8938F7F.jpg

63? That IS my summer.

I'm so layered up in mismatching stuff to keep warm that I'm sure I look pretty comical on my rides. I'm ready for warm weather too. :)

Family members lives in Key West, when it hits the 60s they bust out the fleece and moan about no heating systems.

No kidding around here you know winter is waning when it hits the 40s and you see people walking around in shorts! Nice XC skiing last 3 weeks so not missing the bikes too much.

Wool socks, wool t-shirt (long or short), wool undies when I'm feeling Rivish, standard first layer from 20-85F. Cycling over-shorts and a nylon button-down, vented shirt (REI-type) as next layer, good till under 55F. Tights if really cold, and another layer of wool, typically a sweater. Really cold, or cold and rainy, rain paints and rain jacket. Gloves vary by weather, ear warmers if it's below ~35F. Anything over 40 miles I'll wear cycling shorts with a chamois.

Portland winters are relatively mild compared to the rest of the US, cold compared to SoCal, Arizona, and Florida. YMMV

I've ridden the last 3 days, temps from 20's to low 30's.
Kind of takes the pressure off of keeping a pace.
Varying my attire to avoid excess laundry, but something always gets sweaty.

Under 40 degrees, I only go an hour. Over 40, business as usual, try to dress smart.

Today, I looked a lot like an alien. With a runny nose.

It's supposed to snow tonight but be in the 40's tomorrow, so I'll go again.

Just like running, the first 10-15 minutes are a PITA, then you're fine for 30-35 minutes, then you'd better head for home, because you're wet and it's only going to get worse.

I'm liking Pearl Izumi's shoe covers, some great arctic gloves I have, and keeping my ears warm. I think I may get a larger helmet for layering that stuff. I get everything, and I mean everything, on sale or through a co-op on CL that sells new donated gear to raise operating capital. I'm about to meet a guy who is giving up winter cycling, so I should be expanding my scheduled stuff, maybe even dropping the allowable temps to the teens.

I also wear a Giro Air Attack Shield helmet. My opinion is this helps a ton.

Plan A, low 30's:
Fleece-lined bib knickers by Capo, full Pearl Izumi shoe covers.
Under Armour base layer, , long-sleeve (heavy) fleece-lined jersey.
Head cover (incl ears) and helmet, Brooks knit gloves in New Balance mitten shells.
Pro: Ease of movement, still feel like a cyclist.
Con: You sweat in those bibs if you even slow down, then you get cold.

Plan B, upper 30's:
Fleece-lined bibs by Hincapie, almost too warm, the shoe covers.
Riddell base layer, Chicago Marathon long-sleeved running top, Livestrong anorak.
Headband with ear flaps, Headsweat over that, helmet.
Giro winter riding gloves.
Pro: quick to put on, and warm.
Con: Gloves are too cold, anorak flaps in the wind, no pockets.

Plan C, mid-upper 20's:
Performance riding underwear, In-Sport running tights, Hincapie wind pants, shoe covers.
Riddell base layer, Bellwether long-sleeve jersey, Pearl Izumi wind vest, then a windbreaker jacket.
Headband with ear flaps under full-head cover.
Arctic gloves not designed for riding.
Pro: You will not get cold, anywhere.
Con: I rode 55 minutes and the tights and base layer were soaked. that's bad news if I'd gone too far.
My hands sweated on the cuff area.

Plan D, low 20's:
Any pair of bibs, lined Asics running/wind/rain pants, shoe covers.
Descente long-sleeve base layer, loose Livestrong cotton long-sleeve base layer.
A fleece-lined long-sleeve jersey that's loose, and XL wind vest.
LG fleece cap with ear flaps and visor. Head cover w/open face.
Arctic gloves.
Haven't tested it yet.

Most of my rides, if my chest, fingers, ears and feet are fine, I'm fine.
I generally don't worry if my arms or legs are cold, if my core and extremities are warm.
Bare legs never bothered me, but they get wind-chapped and itch/burn.

I plan to add a couple more of the open-face head covers, plus the larger helmet to fit over it all.
I've got toe covers but once I rode in whole shoe covers, that was the end of them.

What I don't like about winter riding:
1-By the time you get dressed, you're sweating. Solution: get dressed in the garage.
2-Not real crisp shifter feel. Solution: don't hurry, anticipate hills.
3-Doing laundry. Solution: ride clean, let things dry between rides, go twice per laundering anything that didn't get wet.
4-Can't really do long mileage because of the sweat factor and having to change clothes to stay dry.

What I like about winter riding:
1-Chances of meeting other riders and wasting time talking is slim.
2-Chances of stopping at convenience stores for water is slim. I never carry water in the winter.
3-No pace pressure. I just finish the route, get my miles/time in.
4-No one else wants to ride, so it's on my schedule.

I'm trying to feel sorry for you, I really am! :p

http://www.pbase.com/jhuddle/image/162200883.jpg

I rode to work yesterday. It was -21 degrees C / or -6 F. The shimano hydros start to get stiff at those temps. I also rode for about 1.5 hours on singletrack last night around -16C.

In march when the sun is out long and late it's not uncommon to see people XC skiing in a T-shirt and in the case of one friend, if it is close to 0C he is known to ski topless and skin-up in the back country with no shirt on.

63 is a pretty nice summer day here. for sure.

https://weatherspark.com/averages/28...rritory-Canada

UBCraZ. I have run a 10K on a frozen lake, though, so I'm not that smart myself (It was called the Optimist Run).

I will say that the few times I've winter mountain biked with friends, it doesn't seem near as cold and it's pretty fun, plus no cars. A lot of the local road guys go straight to the off-road trails when it gets cold, stay there all winter, get back on the road in the spring.

it's not cold unless it is 40 below zero (same Fahrenheit and Celsius). which is why i live in California and not my home state Montana