Weather is starting to turn here. Rain is back the forecasts a lot more now. Often, there will be rain for part of my commute, but not the other. Further, moring temps are now in the 40's or even the 30's while in the afternoon it's in the 70's. This presents a challenge in terms of clothing and equipment. I carry a cycling rain jacket folded up on my bike, but I've been caught out a couple of times, getting really cold or too hot. What is in your arsenal to cope with the changes in the weather?

Mars:

Interesting topic which will usually causes quite a debate. I have reloaded my cool weather arsenal this fall and will use my new clothing with some clothing from last year. I have grown tired of my office smelling like a gym locker so I bought some wool clothing.

I now have two sets of wool arm warmers, one set of wool knee warmers, two wool jerseys by www.woolistic.com and two wool base layer jerseys. Throughout the winter I wear wool socks.

On days where the temps will stay above 32F or 0C:
For days that it will not rain, I will wear a vest and a fanny pack.
For days that it will rain I will wear a rain jacket and maybe rain pants and my trustworthy fanny pack.

For days that will stay below below 32F or 0C and not raining:
I will wear a wool base layer and my suisse tech thermal jacket and a pair of foxwear thermal tights that have a windproof front and an articulated knee.

I also will be switching to a wool cycling cap.

My clothing might sound like overkill, but if I do the cross country trip in June, my morning commute will increase to 40 miles with a 25 mile return trip home.

Man it does get way to cold down here this time of year. This morning it was like 69 deg. I almost had to put a jacket on the today ride.

Looks like most of the patch makers want to make 50 or more patches at a time. But I'm still looking for a maker that well do less then that.

Tibike:
I would like to see a pic of your racing tandem in action. do you have any pics of you on it?

Haha. Batman. Has all the best toys.

I find a rain jacket/wind breaker is essential and I find jackets made from Propore give the widest range of comfort as it does block the wind 100% and offers a nice insolating pocket of air when it’s cold. And when it starts to get warmer it is somewhat breathable so it takes a long time for the “internal” heat to build up to sauna proportions.

https://www.rei.com/online/store/Prod...8000&langId=-1

Mars:

You have to remember that I usually do a century on the weekends throughout the winter. Cltothing is a necessity.

The tandem has not been on the road since my wife got diagnosed with Rheumatoid Ahtritis. However, we did install an endless pool for her. Now she definitely has the best toy in the house. www.endlesspools.com

How does she like it, tibikefor2? We can't have outdoor pools in my neighborhood... I was thinking about one of those (someday!) for my wife, in a sunroom. She was a swimmer in high school and college and misses having a pool at hand.

I'm with you guys on the difficult-to-pack-for weather. It was 45 degrees this morning, with a real chill in the air. It felt colder than the 41 I rode in the other day. So chilly... I am in desparate need of gloves. My face and ears are a little chilly when I start, so I might have to look into a balaclava or something.

I have been wearing a long sleeve base layer (Patagonia Capilene) or similar, under a Mountain Hardwear soft shell (Velocity, I think it's called). I wear long warmup pants from Old Navy, they work great. Those combined will take me well into fall. I don't pack rain gear because both are water resistant enough to get me home. If it's a rainy morning I'll wear my Mountain Hardware waterproof shell over top, or use that day as a car commute day. I do need to figure out the extremeties thing.

Of course, it'll be 71 on the way home and riding in that stuff I'd roast I typically pack shorts in the morning, and then wear those and a long-sleeve base layer on the way home.

Almost forgot: I also switched helmets from an airy fancy helmet to a Bell BMX helmet I got for $6. It has less vents and is better for cool mornings.

Ducati:

My wife loves the pool, she uses it 6-7 times a week. My kids also use it a fair amount. Having it in a sun room is great during the winter, as the room is a nice 84F, with a bit of humidity. We also grow vegetables hydroponicall in the sunroom ver the winter. There is nothing like a fresh tomato in the middle of the winter.

Also, had a nice uneventful ride in this morning, as the nuisance of a commuter did not pass me.

Like Cig said it was 69 this morning. It is FINALLY cooling down. I should pull out the full fingered gloves, leag and arm warmers by January. I may even need my wind breaker by then.

Cig - I made it to Saint Pete this weekend. Were all moved in and I'm riding my new "very long commute". Its about 23 miles from the house to Ybor where I work. Nice riding! much easier than I thought it was going to be.

Tibike -- Too bad about your wife's RA diagnosis, that can be rough going. My wife has had RA for over 10 years and some periods were tough. We now do some family rides together and she does sporadic gym workouts to try and maintain weight and strength. For the past several years, she has been very healthy with minimla RA issues and with some care she can ride a decent distance. She'll probably never do a century, nor be very fast, but it allows us to do 40 mile rides currently and probably more with increased saddle time. Its usually her butt that gets her rather than the fairly flat rides we do. I've never been in one, but those endless pools seem very cool. Hopefully, its near the bike cave so as you perfect your wonderful toys she can be swimming nearby.

As for clothing, I find this time of year and a similar period in spring to be the toughest. Usually in the morning I will wear a shortsleeved Alertshirt or a Target C9 shirt under a long sleeve t-shirt (again either Alertshirts or C9). If the forecast is for rain I will carry my rainshell on my rack for quick retrieval. If there is no rain but wind I will either wear my rainshell or a Walmart windjacket I have. The windjacket is a litle warmer, but I need to talk my wife into doing some mods to make it really good for biking. I'm thinking that adding pit zips to it will make it a great jacket. But since I don't really sew, I will have to rely on my wife's skills.

Since I'm still carrying around more than enough personal insulation I find that I can dress a little lighter than others on the ride. Legs are still my problem. I have a pair of tights, but since they are windproof there are times when they are a little too much. I think I need to look into other lightweight tights. In the afternoon I'm usually down to just shorts and t-shirt since the temps will be 15-20 degrees warmer. This time of year goretex socks and gloves can be nice for the occasional rain shower. To sum up my clothing choices in this kind of weather it is several lightweight, cheap wicking layers with a rain or windshell as needed. I find I can adjust fairly easily, but it means carrying a lot of extra stuff which can sometimes be a pain. It is simpler in full out winter when morning and evening are much more similar.

Cig -- I'd certainly buy a patch or two if you can find a manufacturer. Thanks for taking on the extra work.

No ride today as I recover from the cold my son gave me. I should be riding tomorrow -- hopefully with my son to school as we get back on track. By the way has anybody ever carried a trombone on a bike? I've got to take one in on Friday for my son's 1st music lesson, I'll let you know how it goes, but suggestions are welcome.

Newbie: I am sorry to hear about your wife's RA affliction. My wife's is effecting her elbows, wrists, hips and knees, so riding has become somewhat hard for her. The pool and the a cross trainer is what she is educed to for exersize. She occasionally gets on her bike but for 20 miles at the most.

O-town, Glad to see you got moved in ok. We'll have to get together and ride sometime. Well todays the frist day for the new job, so off I go.

How do you like the wall (the hump on Gandy bridge)?

Thanks for the pool review. I'll keep it in mind.

Question about tires: I am going to hit 1000 miles on my Giant Bowery this week, and I was planning on rotating them. I typically rotate tires to even wear. These tires, Kenda Kontender, are noticeably worn after 1000 miles... I can feel a little "lip" or flatspot on the rear tire. It's not excessive, for sure, but a roadie friend of mine told me rotating is a no-no once you have a flatspot.

The front is hardly worn (as you would expect), and I do like these tires... So I'd like 'em to last. But I don't like them enough to buy another set

Do you guys rotate? Any thoughts?

Ducati:

Never ever rotate a tire with a flat spot. You always want the best tire in front. A front tire flat is much harder to handle/control than a rear tire flat. I usually go through two rear tires for every front tire.

Also, if you have a medical condition, you can write off the endless pool as a medical expense.

Yes... Never rotate your tires. The back tire wears down faster then the front. So when I put a new tire on the bike. I pull the front one and put it on the back. Then install the new one on the front. this way you get more miles from the back tire and save some money.

The tires that I run are rated for 2200 miles. I need a new back tire on the back after 1000 miles. So I put the front tire that has 1200 miles on it and put it on the back. Now I get an other 500 miles out of it on the back. If I just put it on then back and run it till it needs to be replaced, I'd only get 1000 miles out of it. But by doing the above I get 1700 miles from the tire. And you'll always have a good tire on the front.

So there you have it.

This morning I put in a commute of 33.78 miles to and from work. All and all it was a nice ride. I did have to go 15 miles out of my way to get the miles, but it was for the commute. I end up with a average ride speed (both ways) of 20.06 mph

It remains to be seen what my wife will be able to do after she shattered her wrist this spring. Golf isn't so good, tennis is going OK but hurts, same for riding a bicycle. Dr. says she'll have arthritis for sure in that joint, but hopefully can get some good years in before it becomes bad. If it gets to that point, I will certainly look into that.

Thanks for the advice on the tire. Guess I'll just wear this one out. Man, some of these road tires wear fast!! 1000 miles isn't much.

(can you tell I'm new on road bikes??)

Too bad, because other than the wear I actually quite like these tires. 700x26, and they're very wide, perhaps close to 28's. They stick well, ride great in the rain, and handle nicely. The bomb over rough roads with aplomb, and roll quickly when run at high pressures. The only real negatives are wear and they pick up glass shards fairly easily (I check once a week or so, and always pick some out). I suspect I will have to replace them before fully worn due to their propensity to pick up glass. I hate flats

Great idea CigTech, I'm going to go that route. Thanks!

Bicycle tires are not like car tires. Car tires can get 25,000 to 75,000 mile per tread sets. The tread can be deeper then on a bike. And the tire thicknest can be a lot thicker. A car engine does not care how much the tires weight. So they last a lot longer then a bicycle tire. On a Bike you want a light tire with little tread that will grip the road. The car tires are made harder then a bike tire so they wear down slower. So the bicycle tire wear down faster then a car tire.

Back in the saddle this mrning after a 4 day break. Monday is tough for me as I work 7A-8:30P and have a 17mi commute. When I did it last week, I was too wasted to get back on the next morning in spite of having the regular 8A-5P. It's been in the low 40s in W. MA and yet I've managed with little addition to my outfit. I've been wearing padded shorts with MTB overshorts for the pockets. I recently picked up a Gore Windstopper for $45 on Nashbar after some mega-discounting. Wearing that over a ski base layer works. Long gloves make a HUGE difference that time of day. I'm waiting for the chill to grab my legs, but figure I'll pull out the ski gear for that as well.

Had an interesting synchronicity this AM: while commuting and listening to this book The Botany of Desire on my ipod (I suppose that's a no-no for some of you!) I was quite entertained and then blown away by a blast of c. sativa/indica windat 7AM! Brought back a lot of memories. I recommend your perusal of this book. Chapter 3 is quite compelling.

BTW, if you haven't already, check out audible.com for some great listening.

Back in the game after around five months without riding. I managed to find a route that cut my regular 18 miles commute by one mile. So now I will be commuting 17 miles instead. Took me an hour and 20 minutes. Not too bad considering, its only going to improve from here on down.

The ride in was fairly descent. I learned I need to leave my house a tad earlier. I would say around 20 minutes earlier would be perfect.

I shall see how my ride back home in the blistering South Florida heat will be. Yesterday was extremely hot, I am sure today wont be any different.

Oh man...I'm not sure I'm up for this 5 days a week. 23 miles one way is taking too long. I'm doing it in an hour and a half. I need to work up to Cig like speed to do it in an hour.

Good thing there is an express bus route that takes me 19 of those 23 miles when I need to get home fast.

Looks like Florida is well represented on the VLC thread. Between Cig, myself, and now osirisdon. It is easier to ride long distances when it is so flat.

I've been riding but not posting. Life takes over, you know? Wow, I love riding in the fall. I think I need a new chain, though. Nothing near cold here, just brisk in the morning. Very pleasant. My lights are back on the bike.

good afternoon all: Been very busy. Got chilly hands today but was too lazy to get the gloves out of the pannier. clothes this time of the year are a pain in the a.. They really fill up my bag. what good do they do when I'm too lazy to stop and get them out. I always(except summer) carry a rain jacket(Bell pit zips but I till sweat) and use for a wind breaker with some rain pants. I will wear a PI wind vest most of the winter with a thin poly jacket under. It breathes and breaks wind.(kinda like me) I'm still in shorts but those days are numbered as Am temps in the 40Fs are the norm. Charlie
Hi Velo,where ya been?
new: I hated getting colds from the kids. No more as most have flown the coop.
Floridians: flat and warm...you got it made

My ride back home was uneventfull as usual. Took me a minute longer. Ride distance 17.2 miles time was 1.21.
Temperature wasnt too bad because some afternoon clouds drifted in. My diet has definatley made a huge impact. Now I feel a lot less tired and the energy level is their. My butt is in pain though. I dont have the biker shorts yet. Been modifying the bike little by little. Next up is the shorts. Atleast I now how gloves and its very comfortable.

C U guys mañana.

It'll come O-Town. The first little while can be pretty tough, especially when you are riding the length you are. But your body toughens up really fast. Don't give up, just ride the pace you can and let yourself adapt to the ride. Pretty soon you will be clipping along with the best of them.