Notes on riding in the cold

[johnridley]

I was paying attention to myself a little more this morning, probably in response to Moshe's frostbite discussion yesterday. I'm just making some notes because sometimes people ask about winter cycling clothing when it's 90*F out, and I find thinking about what 0*F temps even MEAN when it's 90*F out as difficult to fathom as the concept of July is right now.

It was about -3*F when I left this morning. I considered moving to my full height boots but stuck with my ankle-high cheap hikers and just one pair of wool socks. My toes were a little cold but nothing bad, I wasn't even getting concerned.

I did switch to some medium-weight gloves. Oddly enough, one finger on my right hand got really cold in about 2 miles, and my face started to get a little hurty. But by mile 4 my blood was pumping, I was making plenty of heat, and everything was very toasty again. By the time I got to Dexter (about 8 miles) my toes were feeling a little chilly but everything else was fine.

I also put on my full prescription goggles. I wear them when it's warmer out but there's dust or salt blowing around, or when it's cold enough that I'm concerned for my eyes. In between they're too much of a PITA due to fogging.

I've heard people on bikeforums say that they run their hands under very warm water for a minute before leaving when it's very cold. This gets the blood vessels opened up and they don't get the sudden dip until their heart rate increases. Might be something interesting to try.

I haven't seen my balaclava for a few weeks. I substituted my pull-over gaiter and a fleece scarf. The scarf is amusing because by the time I get to work, the part over my face has frozen into a stiff mask. Hopefully the balaclava has just been spirited away by the cat or something and will turn up again. I could probably get a conventional balaclava now that I have a plenty-big helmet; the old one was polarfleece on the bottom and lycra up top to be as thin as possible.

Last year we got a few days colder than -20*F. Not sure if we'll get that cold this year, but as long as we've officially gotten below zero, I guess that's something.

Comments

[marsgov.livejournal.com]

Warm water to dilate the blood vessels? Dangerous. This means you will lose heat faster from your extremities. This is the same effect as you get from drinking alcohol: a false feeling of warmth, but one that puts your extremities and core in overall danger.

[johnridley.livejournal.com]

Yes, but the point is, within about 8 to 10 minutes of setting off, your body is dumping all kinds of excess heat, and the fingers are plenty warm anyway. The warm water is just to get the blood flowing out there immediately so that you don't have the initial few minutes of cold fingers. Even when it's -20*F, I'm still sweating within 15 minutes of setting off, but the first few minutes are not that pleasant.