After 2 days of driving, I was back on the bike today and I couldn't be happier. Last night I did a pretty tough training session and my legs were still feeling it today, but the weather was perfect and all the traffic lights went my way as if by magic. Looking forward to the ride home and then another training session tonight.

Noticed a vehicle back while riding down Crosslink Drive in Raleigh, N.C. After a moment I head checked, it was still staying just back of me. I started to wonder why he wouldn't pass me (plenty of room) when he finally passes me slowly - it's an animal control truck. Up ahead he throws his flashers on and pulls over to the other side of road, where I see 2 big, mean looking, homeless looking, dogs hanging out.

Jeebus! It was cold today. So far late summer/early fall had been a pickle. It hadn't been very cold in the mornings, even when it seemed like it would be. So I would start off wearing way too much and get really hot.

So this morning, I thought, well, it hasn't been cold enough in the mornings for any more than a long sleeved wicking shirt and lycra shorts.

It was 37. wind chill feeling was like 31 according to weather.com at the time.

I was farkin cold. It didn't bother me much, except for my hands, which were farking icicles when I got to work. wooo boy. Note to self for tomorrow. WEAR SOME GLOVES.

I don't wear a jersey...Instead I go for a short and long-sleeved technical fabric shirt. They both wick sweat pretty good.

The part I've miscalculated is the el cheapo fleece I got from Wal-Mart (Yeah, bite me. Only place 'round these parts to buy stuff). The cool air cut right through. I've got a wind-breaker-esque jacket that I wear in wet weather. I'm thinking it may provide enough wind protection with the fleece and shirt under that. I'm also going to wear some old USMC glove-liners over the bike gloves and a beanie under the helmet. I've got neoprene ear muffs, but I don't think it's that bad yet.

That's my plan for tomorrow. We'll see how it works then ;)

vest
 

Sounds like you need some wind-blocking. That's why a vest works so well. It blocks the wind without making you all sweaty like a wind-breaker or rain jacket. In my experience, a wind-blocking vest is essential for riding in cold weather.

Ah the commute was gorgeous... i love the early morning commute in the dark with little traffic. It was still and quiet. I passed the other Nisku commuter (there's actually 3 of us, possibly 4).

I love pogies or Moose Mitts, too. They let me wear my summer gloves year-round without having to add layers.

Both mount on your handlebars and block wind. Pogies add closures around your wrists to block ALL air, and are constructed like miniature sleeping bags for warmth. Moose Mitts are more just wind-blockers, with some fleece insulation. When I switched to Moose Mitts, I expected to have to put up with less comfort, but it never happened. Check them out.

If all else fails, you'll probably be much happier with that fleece if you put it on with the zipper in the back. I'd bet most of the wind is coming in through the zipper. use ribbon or string to give you a means to reach the zipper if you go that route.

After breaking a spoke yesterday, I started off riding extra gently this morning. I gave up on that after a couple blocks and hammered away as usual. :D

that's a neat idea.

and to the OP, wind blocking fleece jackets are available through EMS (online). expensive though.

Yea, I need to get a nice fleece to put on under my Wind breaker, would make a world of difference I think.

I'm car-free, so I'll definitely be riding during the winter months.

Ok. I'll see what kind of vests I can find at the local big-box sports stores ('cuz, again, that's all we got).

I'm toying with ordering the Cat 6 jersey from TwinSix, especially since they're having a sale and jersey's are $45. I know it won't help much with weather now, but it may be good for spring-time riding.

Dood...effin' cold, fought a headwind all the way in. Hope it doesn't rain, too...cold rain sucks bad.

lol, that's the kind i prefer :p then i can don the full rain kit and actually arrive dry (no sweat).

i find that a fleece under a wind breaker is too much in all but the coldest conditions (too cold to ride), but you may be different. I prefer light, medium or heavy polyester thermals under a wind breaker. Thinner, more breathable, more wicking.

22 miles with a nearly stead 12-ish mph headwind and overcast skies. Still enjoyable though - the leaves are beginning to color up nicely here in W. Mass.

Cooled down, it was only around 80 outside this morning. :D Light headwind, just enough to give a good workout. Didn't even seen the bus once, was too far ahead of it. I did drop my bike coming out of QT, I didn't wipe out myself (Graceful hopping skills for the win), but the stem twisted a bit. Fixed it when I got to work.

Rainy! 50sF. Went the shorts/t-shirt route. My arms and legs at least were dryer than people decked out head-to-toe in raingear.

7 yr old was happy as long as he could pop his plastic bag over his seat when he hopped off the bike at the school rack.

Cancelled my pre-work training ride with my buddy in order to ride the kids into pre-school. I think this is what they mean by Quality Time.

Last commute of the week. I need to take the car tomorrow for a host of reasons. Like a lot of posters it was the coldest morning of the season. 42, cloudy and some wind and maybe some drizzle for the ride home. Any way I broke down and wore a hat under the lid and I had some gloves on (I think they belonged to my wife), but stayed with shorts and a couple of long sleeve shirts. I'm sure that I had quite the dork factor working for me this morning but I did manage to stay comfortable. Not many other people out this morning either. Whimps!!

This morning's commute was quite pleasant. Temps are still in the 60s or high 50s in the mornings so I'm still running in just a t-shirt and gym shorts. This morning I wouldn't have minded having long sleeves, but it still wasn't too bad.

It was kind of a special commute, as it was the inaugural running of "The Old Gentleman"- the Raleigh DL-1 Tourist 3-speed I picked up last week. A little cleaning off, a new shifter cable, and a pair of Wald rear wire baskets, and he was up to the task.

Climibing Hooters Hill this afternoon might be a pain with only 3 speeds though....

Nice hot commute late this morning. I'm inordinately proud of myself because I installed new pedals with power grips, new freddy fenders and a new rack yesterday. Way harder than I thought it would be including having to cobble something together to attach the front fender (why didn't I notice there were no eyelets?) and all the right sized screws rolling away under the furniture, but I got it done.:thumb: Miraculously, nothing fell off this morning. Not only that, nothing rubbed or rattled! Yay me!:)

wet in the morning and dry and sunny on the way home, love it

HOT and windy this morning for me. Also recovering from a boout of sinusy flu so struggling to get enough air in. But it's good to be back on the bike.

Morning ride was nice, almost froze my naked fingers, until i stopped by and swapped on my winter gloves.
(i knew it was a good idea to pack them in, just in case)

Night commute was...mostly okay, except for the Damn driver BEEPING for just being plain stupid.

Here's why.

It was 3 bikers, including me, in a one way street, so we were nearing the end of the street and preparing to stop.
So we all 3 pretty much took the entire street, it's not unusual in a red light.
And that's the key IT WAS A READ LIGHT; "can't you see?" that's what went through me head.
So since 2 of us were heading north, and the other guy to south, we split our own way and off we go.
By the time we started moving, the guy HONKED again, like WTF?
Oh the most funny thing, to Top it off, there was a Taxi stopped at the Red light, in front of all of us.
so after we left, the guy at most moved 10 inches and had to stop again, behind the Taxi.....


So drivers are just ridiculously stupid....