The Chainlink

Friday Frivolity: when the mercury drops, what first for you? Longer pants, long sleeve shirt...jacket?

So happy to hear I am not alone singing out loud while riding my bike. Yesterday morning and again today, something funny happened on the commute. I was colder than I like, but MTFU or whatnot and did my ride. I am a year round commuter but tend to fare better with acclimating to temp changes then this sudden drop. Whine whine. BUT here's the question: I am a shorts, t shirt commuter right now. So I am faced with the quandary of what layer first, which seems to beg the question which layer pyramid schematic do you follow. I am sticking with shorts and adding a vest. My legs usually generate plenty of BTUs perhaps from the cycling while my top half seems to shiver. Of course this assumes some sort of teleological nature of shorts then pants then long sleeve shirt then jacket...etc

TL/dr when the weather gets colder, which layer do you add on first? And do you follow any order of "building up" the layers.

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Don't think of the chill as a sign of winter. It just means we're nearing the Boss Level of the 2014 biking year.

grayn8,

What did your wife end up wwearing and how did it work out for her?

Gene


I'll try and upload a picture of the lake. It was kind of a crazy day. The lake was 70F and the outside temp at the start was around 45F, so there was all of this steam coming off the lake. The bike ride was when things started warming up (still below 50 F and for 24.8 miles), but she said she was freezing for a lot of it. By the time the run happened the outside temp was 65 F. For the bike ride she wore tri-kit, arm sleeves, neck gaiter, fully fingered wind resistant gloves, ear cover...she says that her toes went numb and she did not feel them til about 3 miles into the run. Her speed on the bike definitely was slower than normal, but all in all she complete an olympic distance tri. I was surprised spectating how varied the participants dressed, but seeing some of them coming out of the water and get on to the bike looked like a painful affair to say the least.


Gene Tenner said:

grayn8,

What did your wife end up wwearing and how did it work out for her?

Gene

I now carry neck gaiter and a pair of arm/sleeve warmers for just-in case, but I do have on my pair of gloves. This should suffice until it dips way below 50s.

By then I'll probably start wearing my wool sweaters and a wind-breaker or some sort.

Give her hearty congratulations for braving the elements, sticking through the numbness and cold and completing the race.

grayn8 (5.3 - 36) said:


I'll try and upload a picture of the lake. It was kind of a crazy day. The lake was 70F and the outside temp at the start was around 45F, so there was all of this steam coming off the lake. The bike ride was when things started warming up (still below 50 F and for 24.8 miles), but she said she was freezing for a lot of it. By the time the run happened the outside temp was 65 F. For the bike ride she wore tri-kit, arm sleeves, neck gaiter, fully fingered wind resistant gloves, ear cover...she says that her toes went numb and she did not feel them til about 3 miles into the run. Her speed on the bike definitely was slower than normal, but all in all she complete an olympic distance tri. I was surprised spectating how varied the participants dressed, but seeing some of them coming out of the water and get on to the bike looked like a painful affair to say the least.

Gloves!

First thing that goes on is my mock turtle neck UA long sleeve, as it get's colder then my polypropelene tights, then socks, then gloves, then my windbreaker jacket, then my UA balaclava, then my hoodie, and finally either my tear away windbreaker pants or jeans or something like that.

Today I rode with the UA long sleeve and the tights and my legs were really sweaty when I got to work.

Riding this time of year is like a burlesque show. You start with plenty of clothes on especially with an early morning commute. yesterday I had a cap that covered my ears, fingered gloves, and a wind resistant sweater. I still had shorts. Once moving you have to decide what clothing to  jettison as the temperatures rise with the sun. The ride  home featured a t shirt over a long sleeve tee and regular cycling gloves. The most important thing is a bag or pannier because this is not the season for a single outfit. Ah, for the recently departed days of throwing on a tee shirt and getting on the bike... but wait, they return this weekend to tantalize us for a couple days.

Haven't really changed my outfit all that much. I went from summer knickers to midweight knickers (I'll wear those until Thanksgiving or later), and changed from my summer shirt, to a light weight woolen jersey. Oh, and  I changed my sandals to closed toe shoes. As the temps drop further, I'll keep on adding: woolen sleeves, long woolen socks,, light gloves, and so on. It will be a while before I start layering. 

Longer pants.

It's funny to me, I was really curious which came first for people: longer pants or longer shirts. I don't think we have a clear victor.
In the past I've never been much of a cold weather rider but this year I'm going to try to commute even in the cold. Can anyone recommend some pants or other cold weather gear? Or a store / website? I'm not big on tights or spandex. Lately I've just been rolling up the pants leg on my wranglers but that's not going to work for long.

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