Hi there, Just returned from a refreshing but exhausting one hour ride ;-). If I don't do my rides regularly lets say - each other day; I use to struggle a bit. This Xmas I had way too much food I guess... What I did note was that the usual headwind was quite cold. It helped that I pushed myself to the utmost and I was sweating like a pig. I am now wearing a mesh sweat shirt, a Craft undershirt and a jacket. I have a second undershirt available; would it be wise to wear that over the other undershirt? Or better go shopping for a fleece 2nd layer instead to fight the cold?

I stay away from cotton in the cold weather as layers as it absorbs but not wick away moisture from your skin thus you get cold and/or are clammy.
I will use varied layers of varied clothing as weather dictates.
For instance my last ride was at 17f with a light wind. My first layer was a Pearlizumi long sleeve light weight base layer to wick away sweat, my second layer was another long sleeve mid weight layer with a high, zippered collar, over that went my Castelli thermal jacket. I was comfortable for the 30 mile ride. I used the zippers to control body temp during the ride.
I also have a short sleeve, wind front, light weight base layer and a Craft long sleeve mid weight, wind front base layer I add as I feel necessary. I don't use the wind fronts with the Castelli jacket as the jacket is very wind proof but I do use them almost exclusively in the fall beneath a long sleeve jersey, etc.

I feel it is best to own a good quality light weight, long sleeve base layer...long sleeve, mid weight base layer and a good thermal/wind/water resistant jacket. Also a short sleeve light weight base layer. A wind front, long sleeve base layer rounds out a very good cool to very cold weather layering system for all outdoor activities...walking, running, riding, shoveling, snow throwing, skiing, etc.
It may be a bit costly at first buy I strongly recommend buying high quality clothing/materials...it is well worth it in the long run and comfort/warmth wise.

What kind of jacket do you have and how cold it was? A cycling jacket that has wind/rain barrier on the front but breathable sides and back can make huge difference: it'll keep you warm an dry. The key is to have a protection against the cold wind but enough breathability to push the heat and moisture out.

I use long sleeve wool base layer, then a wool sweater (I have two: thin and thick with turtleneck for diff temps) as second layer and a wind-barrier cycling jacket or light general purpose winter jacket depending on the weather. I too avoid cotton, it's horrible: keeps you cold in Winter and hot in Summer.

My cycling jacket has wind barrier on the front and it's breathable on the back and sides and it works well with a thin wool sweater down to around 32F. If lower than that then I need to switch to a winter jacket that doesn't have large ventilated areas but it's still breathable underarms so I can push the hot air out while moving. I picked up two cheap 100% merino wool sweaters from GAP outlet on sale, they have some imperfections but they work great for biking and hiking. For $30 each they're hard to beat. One is thin and the other is thick. But for the base layer it's really good to have something high quality made for cycling, it makes a big difference indeed.

Adam

Hi Kai, AdamDZ, it was just below freezing point - and headwind was blowing at the greater part of the ride - I was dressed like this:
An Ultimate Bibs; a polyester mesh Ultimate sweatshirt; a pair of thin long over pants (Rogelli); a 1st layer Craft long sleeve and a Specialized jacket without a wind barrier.
Sweat like an ox as I had to work hard into the wind and the best way to overcome the cold. Still I am not quite happy with the sweat shirt - it does not wick away the sweat enough - the undershirt however becomes wet too.. Maybe do away with the sweat shirt and try an extra 1st layer that may beter control sweat wicking? Anyway, it was cold half of the ride - and when standing still at trafic lights - For the rest I tried to go as fast as possible. Under the shower I noted that my upper legs groin and belly were red from the cold. May have to shop also for a wind jacket. Thanks for all tips.