This reply is quite late to the party, but I thought the video attached is worth sharing. The narrator has, I think, too rosy an outlook about what is practically possible in North American cities, but he does show that cold weather cycling is not, or ought not to be, a real barrier, tho' even he starts tossing in qualifications for temperatures below -20*F (or perhaps that is only -20*C, a wimpy -4*F).
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Uhx-26GfCBU&feature=emb_rel_end He describes Finnish cities as having more snow than Canadian cities, but he never lived in Kebek, which gets or used to get an average of 13 non-drift feet a year. Still, he's right about the cold; keep moving and your are surprisingly warm. To add to the thread: We don't get very cold temps here; I've ridden 30-35 miles in the mid-teens warming to the mid 20s, American Freedom Units (mile high radiant solar heat), but much more often in the low to mid 20s for 6-10 miles on the way to church; tho' in my hot blooded mid-late 20s I ran and xc ski'id down to -20*F. One very basic principle I've learned to keep extremities warm is to size gloves and shoes up for air gaps. I have small-medium hands but buy XL gloves, one, so I can wear wool DeFeets underneath, but mostly so that there is 1/2" of air between my thumb and the end of the glove when riding into a 21*F headwind. The same goes for shoes: extra room between big toe and end of shoe. I also like those Buff-type merino tubes that you can wear as neck gaiters, COVID masks (doubled), and ear warmers under a winter ear flap cycling cap; easier than scarfs, more versatile that scarfs and balaclavas, and just as warm. One more tried 'n' liked for winter 2020-2021 is a very nice pair of ex-Eastern or Mitteleuropa military spec (but complement your elegant evening wear!) leather gloves with warm cloth lining that I got from a Finnish army surplus outlet, sized 2-above in order to accommodate a pair of in-themselves very warm DeFeet knit wool gloves with room left at finger ends; the DeFeets themselves over a pair of thin silk liners were perfectly warm at 32*F this morning. Oh, and I have experienced why old cycling jackets were made of knit wool with nylon wind panels. IME, this is the best combination for cold weather warmth with protection from wind. I've just found a tailor to, God willing, alter and repair the 2 largely new '80s-vintage Italian jackets someone very kindly gave me. On Sun, Jan 31, 2021 at 11:27 PM Roberta <rchas...@gmail.com> wrote: > Inspired by the wonderful cold weather rides and pics recently (and > others, too, on Instagram), I decided I should not stop riding just because > the temperature is below 60*. Yes, you read that right. Pre-Riv, when > the weather got below 60*, I’d stop riding because it was “too cold.” > > Well, I’ve learned a lot here in the last 3 ½ years. Last year, I rode > when it was in the 40’s. Yesterday and today, I was out in 32* and 27* > temperatures, respectively, and it was glorious! I finally learned how > to dress properly for cold weather riding. There were less crowds on the > trail and I was more comfortable than when it’s in the 90’s. > > I highly recommend it! > Also, how do you keep your toes warm? It was the only cold part of my > body. I was wearing leather sneakers and cotton socks (only because I > couldn't find my wool ones). Winter temps usually don't often go below 30*. > > Roberta > > -- You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "RBW Owners Bunch" group. To unsubscribe from this group and stop receiving emails from it, send an email to rbw-owners-bunch+unsubscr...@googlegroups.com. To view this discussion on the web visit https://groups.google.com/d/msgid/rbw-owners-bunch/CALuTfgv-uNDg9-oU1ABWc_GtSmSEkJO0u9yWBXiqegLDC43fxw%40mail.gmail.com.
