Conference noted::bicycle

    My threshold seems to be about 25 degrees.  Cycling in the cold is also
    a functions of time.  I can handle 25 degrees for about and hour.  Like
    every other opinion in this file, your mileage may vary.
    
    Phil

     What kinda biking? It makes a big difference! Huge! Monstrous!
    
     "What kind of clothing?" Warm clothing.... :-)
    
        Chip

    It almost seems a shame that Graham's not about to answer :-)

    thanks, for the pointers. I did look for a keyword, but didn't search
    for a string.
    
    Greg

    Well, I rode to work yesterday with the temperature between 10 and
    15  F.  Since  I still had some spare clothing, I guess I can ride
    when it's a bit cooler than that.

    I wore  a  polypro  balaclava,  2 layers of polypro undershirts, a
    polypro  jersey,  polypro  long  underwear,  heavy polypro tights,
    polypro  socks,  gortex/thinsulate  gloves,  and neoprene booties.
    (Notice a pattern?)

    In case  it  got  colder,  I  had  a  polypro helmet liner, a wool
    sweater,  and a goretex jacket in reserve. I was a bit sweaty when
    I  got  in,  so I guess I could have gone another 5 degrees colder
    before adding the extra layers.

--David

    My first response to this was too severe.  The author of .0 did
    a keyword search, so they get points for that.  I'll delete .2 .

    In any case, here is the list of other noptes on the topic:

   473  TRFSV1::ONEILL       22-SEP-1987     6  Winter Training Schedule??
   458  LUDWIG::DESHARNAIS    9-SEP-1987    11  Cold Weather Riding Attire
   936   29169::J_BUSH        7-DEC-1988    33  winter activities
   963  TALOS4::JD           11-JAN-1989    16  Cold Feet
  1301     TLE::WEISS         1-SEP-1989    14  Cool/Cold Weather Gear
  1321  SYSENG::BITTLE        2-OCT-1989     3  ATB fun during New England wint
  1343   PEDAL::POZZETTA     17-OCT-1989     7  Cool/Cold Weather Hardware
  1780  SA1794::PIERMARINI   13-NOV-1990    21  what to do in Winter.
  2125  RCOXX3::EDWARDS      14-NOV-1991    21  I've got cold feet!

     Hello Greg


  I use -10C (14F) as the cutoff point. It is possible to survive on a bike in
lower temperatures but there had better not be ANY (I mean none!) wind. And the
rides should be kept short, 90 min maximum. The temperature with wind chill of
course is how you should gage how to dress.
  Dressing for winter cycling is a complete art in itself. Not enough clothes
and you freeze, too much clothes and you sweat and then you freeze. Cotton is a
definate no no in cold weather it harbors too much moisture. I have found that
if I am slightly cold at the start of a ride I have probably dressed just right.
  Cold is something that may take some time to get used to, also some cyclists
have more tolerance to it than others. I do not think its good to go hard in the
winter since blood flow to the limbs is lessened in the cold.

  Lets start with 5F (40F) as being the definition of cold, this would happen in
November in Southern Ontario. Here is how I would dress:

   around 5F - Lycra long tights, Lifa longsleeve undershirt, longsleeve thermo
               jersey, thin wool gloves, thin hat, normal shorts


   0C (32F)  - Lycra long fleese lined tights, Lifa longsleeve undershirt, long
 to -4C (25F)  sleeve thermo jersey, cycling jacket, thin wool gloves with
               thin pollypro type gloves, booties, pull over hat (touk), large
               Oakley sun glasses (forget the name), normal shorts


   -5C (23F) - Lycra long fleese lined tights with thin Lycra long tights, Lifa
 to -10C (14F) longsleeve undershirt, normal jersey, longsleeve thermo jersey,
               2 light cycling jackets or a heavy cycling jacket,
               thin wool gloves with thin pollypro type gloves or heavy ski
               gloves, booties, thermo socks, two pull over hats (touks),
               large Oakley sun glasses (forget the name), normal shorts

    FWIW, for those with cold feet or legs...
    I picked up some Neoprene tights from Performance (about $70)
    to go with Neoprene socks and over booties; very, very warm combo.
    You end up looking like a scuba diver or worse, a giant mouse pad,
    and the tights are somehwat movement-restrictive, but there's
    nothing warmer for the waist down.  Polypro takes care of the upper
    body (shirt layering, hat, mits, face mask) where sweat absorbtion is 
    still/more important.  .02 kb
     

    A comment about Performance neoprene booties...

    I'd recommend reinforcing the rubber bottoms with duct tape,
    particularly around the cleat hole.  I didn't do that and the rubber
    eventually tore; I was able to tape it up, but it would have made more
    sense to reinforce it in the beginning.

    I ran the tape inside the rubber bottom, folded over at the cleat
    hole and over the outside and was able to make the boots usable
    again after the bottoms had split all the way.

    - Jim

    Layers! I check the thermometer before going out and dress accordingly: 
    above 60 degrees F = 1 layer, long or short sleeve
       50-60           = 2 layers, one long-sleeve
       40-50           = 3 layers
       30-40           = 4 layers, two long-sleeve
       20-30           = 5 layers
       10-20           = 6 layers
        0-10           = 7 layers, three of them long-sleeve
    
    The above refers to upper-body cover. For the legs, there's the usual
    khaki pants, cuffs wrapped and tucked into socks to keep out of the
    chain, and either thick or thin long underwear depending on
    temperature. The khakis are loose enough to be comfortable to ride in,
    and trap some body heat. Above "layer table" is not a rigid rule, I 
    don't actually think consciously about it before setting out, but
    that's how it works out when I set it down on paper (keyboard). All
    layers are not created equal - I should note that these are entirely
    comprised of a variety of T-shirts and sweatshirts, ordered so the 
    smallest (closest-fitting) are closest to the body and the largest are
    on the outside, so they layer smoothly without bunching up or wrinkles.
    
    The outermost sweatshirt has a hood that is pulled up over the head,
    to cover the ears, and helmet fitted over that. There is surprisingly
    little attenuation of car sounds.
    
    There are three levels of hand covering: above 45 F or so, thin cotton
    gloves; from 20 to 45F, something like insulated ski gloves, still with
    separate fingers; below 20 or 25F, big leather mittens with down or 
    fiberfill-type insulation. They are a little clumsier but I can still
    do all the normal shifting and manage the light switches for night 
    riding.
    
    The 10-mile commute at temperatures below 10 degrees F gave me cold
    feet so I added a toe-clip cover that velcroes over the existing clip
    straps. That helps create a little warm-air pocket around toes. I might
    have gotten one of those neoprene shoe covers but the toe-clip cover 
    seemed to do the job and averts frostbite. The cover comes off for warm
    weather.
    
    Also at the colder temperatures the ankles are likely to feel the cold
    unless you're careful to pull the long underwear legs ALL the way down
    to shoe tops, and tuck pants cuffs down as far as they'll go too.
    
    Total investment in cold-weather biking gear: a few $ for the toe clip
    covers. Polypro stuff will not hold moisture as much but it's not
    really necessary - we're not talking about climbing Mt. Everest here.
    If you're going somewhere round-trip you can separate the layers at the
    destination to let the inner ones dry out so they're not clammy when
    you put them on again. This is for rides of an hour or less - if you 
    are going on winter centuries you may want to invest in more exotic
    cold-weather gear.

    Addendum to previous note: forgot to mention all-important face
    protection. At temps below 20 F, on goes the black terrorist ski 
    mask to keep frostbite from nose and cheeks. Fortunately last year
    during height of Gulf War, didn't use it when entering DEC plants
    and waving badge at the guards (remember how security cranked down
    then to make sure no Iraqi terrorist was going to get in?) Now I
    wear it in (hands full of briefcase, helmet, battery) and they don't
    even look twice. Could be IBM spy.

    
    	Yep, you've all been waiting for me to enter my usual verbal
    diarrohea in here. Well, just to put you out of your misery and since
    I'm stuck in here working a N/S on Boxing Day and none too pleased
    about it...
    
    	How cold? These replies puzzle me. I have a mental picture of
    everyone in the morning fighting there way through the driving snow to
    get to there little weather centre to check the temprature, air
    pressure and wind chill factor. The only way that the temprature
    affects my cycling is if it's been so cold that the pipes have frozen
    and I have to spend all day trying to drag in a plumber. But then
    again, this Arctic wasteland breeds a different kind of man...
    	Seriously though, cold has never stopped me riding the bike. It's
    only the related weather conditions that bother me; ice, drifting snow
    and yetis (is the plural of yeti spelt yeties or yetis? Has anyone ever
    seen more than one of them to be bothered to find out?). Mind you, it's
    a new excuse to add the book.
    
    	What to wear? Just the usual thermal jacket, gore tex gloves ski
    hat (underneath the helmet of course... ). Of course you've got to
    carry you're emergency kit with you; ice pick, flares, thermal
    space-age blanket, hot milk in the flask (laced with whisky)...
    
    Graham.
    

    I read through the last string with some interest.   We never get that
    kind of cold over here.  The temperature just needs to drop into the
    mid twenties for the whole of the country (Britain) to get collective
    hysteria about sunspots or the like.   So like Graham the cold has
    never stopped me - the coldest I have ever been out in was the south of
    France.
    
    However I don't cycle too much in november thru march, Am I a wimp ?
    (dont answer that!).  
    
    What I cannot handle is the driving rain, turning to driving sleet, the
    50mph gusting wind or alternatively the freezing fog, the lunatic lorry
    drivers, the grit, the penetrating wetness which conspires to make you 
    colder at 34�F that you ever could be a 25�.  Then there is the dark,
    we are currently dark from 09:00 til 16:00 which is pretty dispiriting.  

    re: "we are currently dark from 09:00 til 16:00 which is pretty
    dispiriting."
    
    Waiting for the moon to rise?
    
    ed
    

    
    Good info in the foregoing notes.  Here are some random add-ons:
    
     - The Lifa that Wayne refers to in .8 is Helly-Hansen's name for
       polypropylene - don't know if it's a particular kind of polypro.
    
     - Mittens, as you've probably heard since childhood, are much warmer
       than gloves.  Certainly that's true on a bike.  Even a relatively
       porous pair of woolen mittens will do a better job than even heavy
       duty gloves.
    
     - The warmest enhancement to mittens would be Gore-Tex (or similar
       technology) mitten shells.  More economical are Nashbar's 
       Neoprene glove covers, which slip over the fingers and back of the
       hand.  They are positively toasty, and especially good when you 
       are starting out in the chill of a frosty morning.  (Both can be
       used over regular gloves, of course.)
    
     - Neoprene booties are warmest, by my experience, but they do retain
       moisture, which can chill you if you slack off the pace or stand
       around.  I am now also using some Pearl Izumi rainproof but
       perspiration-porous (in other words, like Gore-Tex) booties.  
       They are not as warm right off as the Neoprene, but cut the wind,
       and will remain dry if you are wearing them all day - so later in
       the day, they will end up being warmer.  Ummm... they are not cheap.
    
     - A Gore-Tex-like jacket is very good if you will be out a long time.
       Gore-Tex can't cope with the moisture generated by strenuous cycling,
       but it can dissipate the fruits of normal exertion over time, making
       an all-day ride much more tolerable.  You can stop or slow down
       without getting chilled by accumulated sweat.
    
     - An alternative way to stay warm in the cold is the old-fashioned
       racer's way: minimize moisture accumulation and maximize caloric
       output (two goals that are at odds with shells, even Gore-Tex).
       The method, of course, is to wear several jerseys, all wicking and
       permeable (wool, polypropylene, Thermax...), possibly starting with
       newspaper tucked in front under the outer jersey.  This requires
       you stay energetic, but clammy moisture build-up is not a problem.
       This strategy is ideal in a pace-line, when you are exposed to the
       wind only a fraction of the time.  I'm not willing to speculate
       how really cold it has to get to make this method dangerous.
    
     - Another wicking, warm fabric worth trying is Thermax.  It feels
       smooth and soft, like cotton, but wicks well.
    
     - Another thing you've heard since childhood is that keeping your
       head warm keeps you warmer all over.  A Thermax cap is good because
       it wicks, cuts the wind (tight weave), and is thin enough to fit
       under helmets.  A hood such as the Gore-Tex hood on my Gore-Tex
       jacket works wonders, whether or not it looks like high fashion.
    
     - Constriction/restriction in the motive elements (feet, ankles, legs)
       is a big annoyance to me (maybe not so much to others).  So I end up
       wearing thinner socks (Thermax or double-layered Cool-Max) and 
       booties, rather than thick socks; and Lycra tights *under* leg warmers
       rather than bulky tights or longjohns.  I think long underwear builds
       character through adversity. :-)  Then again, I don't live in New
       England any longer ... another missed opportunity to build character
       through adversity. :-)
    
    -john 

    Winter cycling provides plenty of excitement with its variety in
    conditions.  In Colorado, the warm Chinook winds are lots of fun, 
    especially when snow/ice are present.  Picture yourself riding across
    packed snow with ice patches and a nice crosswind @35-50 mph.  You 
    cannot lean into the wind, instead point your front tire into the wind,
    pedal, and tack like a sailboat.  As your tires turn into a snowball, 
    traction is a missing commodity.  Lots-o-fun.