Advice needed for trip this weekend
 

Hey all,

It's likely a bit OT here, but as someone else recently posted.. you guys are my family! :)

I'm looking at a metric century (ie, the shorter wussy one ;)) on Friday and again on Sunday to go visit friends out of town. Weather (well, time exposed in said weather) is my only concern. Mostly my feet, too. Over long distances (it's no more than 60 miles) I can see my feet getting cold with windchill, as that's happened on my commute home (~40 minutes) when it was pretty cool here last week.

Assuming it's not going to icestorm/snow storm, I'll be riding there. I've ridden there before (in May) so I'm OK with the route, roads are easy going, etc. It took me 4.5 hours including all my rest stops/stretch breaks, and I plan on leaving work at the crack of 5 or before to head out (I'd prefer light to dark, so earlier=better).

Should I take any extra precautions with regard to weather-proofing myself? I'm thinking for my feet I'll tape the front of the shoes up, or tape grocery bags over the toe area. As I'm riding my roadie, with eggbeaters, I'm restricted to one piece of footwear - so no taking boots as spares, etc.

I've not ridden for over an hour in a good few weeks, so my exposure to the elements has been fairly 'controlled'.

I'll be taking a rack with baggage on anyway, so I'm confident I'll have enough warm clothing with me should things get crazy.

I'm just asking for any tips/help/advice on the venture.

Do you have space for plastic bread bags outside of your socks and inside the shoes? Great for me in Denver in sub-freezing weather. I just brought shoes loose enough to take two pairs of socks and the bag.

60 miles is a long way to go when its -10C, and a strong and bitingly cold northwesterly wind. So its probably too late for this, but my advice would be check the weather forecast. :) Leave at sunrise Sat rather than dark Friday? Remember there is snow and ice on the roads, even it is has been plowed. So if you were taking busy but shouldered routes, remember there won't likely be a clear shoulder right now. If you were taking not busy routes be aware of stray snow/ice, and that it will be harder to see even with a good light on non-street light country roads. Rural traffic will not expect to see bikes in winter so ride accordingly :)

Sunday is supposed to be a major snowstorm, so uh yeah hopefully you are not planning to go 60 miles back through that...

If the weather was better winter weather... bring along maybe those emergency hand warmer packs just in case. The wind is usually the worst thing in the winter so keeping the wind out is crucial. Make sure you wear wicking layers, while sweating on a commute may not bother you, sweating and being cold over several hours no fun. Maybe bring a thermos of warm liquid if your route is not going by a lot of services.