Winter Commuting By Bicycle

Commuting to work in January by bicycle

Type: Wheel
Date: 1/18/07
Temperature: 8 degrees F

The last few mornings have been the coldest of the year with the morning temps in the single digits or teens and I must say that I've been pleasantly surprised at how many cyclists are still on the road. I've also seen cyclists wearing such a broad array of clothing that I thought I'd spend some time discussing what works for me. Tomorrow I'm going to try to bring a camera so that I can document what people wear while cycling to and from work. Here's what I wear:

Duofold long underwear
pants I'm wearing to work that day
shirt I'm wearing to work
Shell of my columbia jacket (even in 8 degree weather the lining wasn't needed)
gloves - I wear specialized sub zero riding gloves (I had cheaper gloves but my fingers were really hurting)
balaclava
helmet
thick wool socks

My balaclava is the most important piece of gear I wear for commuting. I really can't say enough about how important face and head coverings are when you're cruising along at 15-20 miles per hour in 15 degree weather. I personally like the balaclava best because of its ability to warm your head, neck, nose, and face all at the same time. The only problem I've run into is when I wear glasses instead of contact lenses my glasses fog up really badly and I can't see anything when I have the balaclava pulled over my nose. I could also solve this by getting something more like this clava.

I have two issues that still need to be resolved before I would be completely comfortable riding in this weather (are you really supposed to be completely comfortable? Wouldn't that take some of the excitement out of it?) Those are my toes and my eyes. My eyes are the only things exposed from my balaclava, and they tend to get assaulted by the wind, sun, snow, and rain. I'm debating between picking up just normal sunglasses or goggles that I could also wear on winter hikes. But I've already mentioned the problems with glasses and my balaclava so i assume the same thing would happen with sunglasses, right? Maybe goggles are the way to go. I do want something that I could wear at night (tonight biking home I was pelted by cold driving snow. It was have been really nice to throw on some goggles).

My toes really aren't that much of an issue for commuting, of course my commute is only 2.5 miles long so just when my toes are starting to freeze I'm walking into my office. I tried to go for a bike ride for leisure on Saturday and by 10 miles my toes were ready to fall off so I think if you're doing anything over 5 miles you really need to be wearing some sort of footwear that will protect you from the wind and bitter cold. There are a few options for those of us who don't have cycling shoes and perhaps I will try some. Here's what I've seen people doing on my commute.

1) Wear boots - Why not? Loosen up your toe clips and hit the pavement with some heavy duty winter boots and wool socks. There's no rule that says you can't bike in boots and I guarantee your feet will be nice and toasty.

2) Try some of the shoe covers out there - There are plenty of neoprene or plastic shoe covers that supposedly block the wind and help hold in the heat, I haven't tried any so i can't vouch for which brands work and which don't, but it seems like a good idea.

I've run out of steam tonight I'll finish up more tomorrow