3 ms·

Wow that's pretty amazing. I'm a Californian in Boston and I managed to ride when it was about 0F out and I thought that was a bit much. How do you dress for su

Wow that's pretty amazing. I'm a Californian in Boston and I managed to ride when it was about 0F out and I thought that was a bit much. How do you dress for such a venture? I find that either I'm freezing cold when starting off until I get warm through exertion, or I'm comfortable starting off and am sweltering by the time I get where I'm going.

grecy 6y ago
It's a tricky balance, and usually you want to start a bit cold, knowing you'll get warm "Be bold, start cold" - but of course you have to watch out for frostbite. My commute to work was only ~15mins on the bike, and for the first half I was a bit cold, and then the second half I was unzipping my jacket and would even stand outside the office with no jacket of toque or gloves for 3-5 minutes in -40 temps to cool off. The steam coming off me was always fun :) With a longer ride (my landlord rode 40 mins each way) you stop after about 20 minutes and change layers - usually go for windproof with minimal insulation to prevent overheating/sweating.
- 0_____0 6y ago
  i find that my hands, toes and ears seem to be weak points. i might have to find some earmuffs that work with a helmet for next winter. side note: i snooped your profile a bit and i'm intrigued by the path you've chosen. i am moving in a similar direction, and no doubt could benefit from referencing your experience...
  - grecy 6y ago
    I used to wear a pear of very thin merino wool gloves and then a MASSIVE pair of very well insulated mitts. After leaving the house I had to take off my mitts to unlock my bike, and I knew it was cold (past -35 or so) when I couldn't feel my fingers after 20 seconds of no mitts. On my feet I wore thick wool socks, and very well insulated winter boots. They were always hot, even just standing still past -40 For my face I had a toque under my helmet and a big thick merino wool neck warmer that I would pull up until it was right under my eyes - so it covered my ears entirely. Half way to work I would pull down the neck warmer, unzip my big jacket, etc. in an attempt to not sweat too much. .. haha, yeah, my path has been a different one, and I'm a thousand times happier than when I sat at a desk. I'm TheRoadChoseMe around the web, and my email is dan @ that .com if you want to get in touch!

grecy 6y ago

It's a tricky balance, and usually you want to start a bit cold, knowing you'll get warm "Be bold, start cold" - but of course you have to watch out for frostbite. My commute to work was only ~15mins on the bike, and for the first half I was a bit cold, and then the second half I was unzipping my jacket and would even stand outside the office with no jacket of toque or gloves for 3-5 minutes in -40 temps to cool off. The steam coming off me was always fun :) With a longer ride (my landlord rode 40 mins each way) you stop after about 20 minutes and change layers - usually go for windproof with minimal insulation to prevent overheating/sweating.

0_____0 6y ago
i find that my hands, toes and ears seem to be weak points. i might have to find some earmuffs that work with a helmet for next winter. side note: i snooped your profile a bit and i'm intrigued by the path you've chosen. i am moving in a similar direction, and no doubt could benefit from referencing your experience...
- grecy 6y ago
  I used to wear a pear of very thin merino wool gloves and then a MASSIVE pair of very well insulated mitts. After leaving the house I had to take off my mitts to unlock my bike, and I knew it was cold (past -35 or so) when I couldn't feel my fingers after 20 seconds of no mitts. On my feet I wore thick wool socks, and very well insulated winter boots. They were always hot, even just standing still past -40 For my face I had a toque under my helmet and a big thick merino wool neck warmer that I would pull up until it was right under my eyes - so it covered my ears entirely. Half way to work I would pull down the neck warmer, unzip my big jacket, etc. in an attempt to not sweat too much. .. haha, yeah, my path has been a different one, and I'm a thousand times happier than when I sat at a desk. I'm TheRoadChoseMe around the web, and my email is dan @ that .com if you want to get in touch!