18 degrees

[topaz]

18 degrees, originally uploaded by qwrrty.

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Sent from my bionic implant

Edit: the gear I wore for today's ride:

on the head:

• neoprene face mask
• helmet

on the torso:

• t-shirt
• light cotton sweatshirt
• fleece pullover
• windbreaker
• reflective vest

legs:

• regular underwear, jeans

hands/feet:

• thinsulate glo-mitts
• winter socks
• Shimano cycling sandals
• neoprene booties

In other words, not actually a lot of specialized gear, just a lot of layering.

The hardest things for me to keep warm are my ears and fingers. The face mask ($12 at the Army Barracks in Boston) is key, because it's thin enough to fit comfortably under my helmet, but still insulates enough to keep my face from falling off. The gloves ($11, also from the Army Barracks) are fingerless gloves with a mitten flip-top, which is perfect for winter biking: the mitten top keeps my fingers warm but I can pop out my fingers if I need to use my keys or open a lock.

Comments

Yay!

[inseriatim.livejournal.com]

And dude. I thought I was all set with my $40 waterproof socks, but they were out the second the weather dropped below freezing. Booties sound like a great idea.

Also a great idea: glo-mitts. If I could see an accounting of how long I've spent to date fumbling with keys and dropping locks because of bulky gloves and mittens, I would probably have to curl up in a ball under my desk. Glo-mitts never once occurred to me.

So when are you doing the winter ride to PTown?

Re: Yay!

[xuth.livejournal.com]

I like using my REI branded "expedition" socks under my waterproof socks. I wear sandals (shimano for cycling, tevas for walking/hiking/running...) year round and this combination mostly works for me. (if really needed I can throw some yaktraks on my Tevas also).