So far I've been pretty lucky the coldest day this Fall was this morning; a chilly 27 degrees when I left the house.
I have my routine down fairly good, this morning I even had time to make and eat a bowl of oatmeal before heading to work. As the weather gets colder I plan to shower before I go to bed so I can keep some of the oils on my skin as protection. Taking a shower in the morning helps with waking up but it takes all of the oil from your skin and leaves you exposed to the elements.
My routine goes a little something like this:
cell phone alarm starts playing the Mexican hat dance at 0415
I crawl out of bed and let the dogs outside.
Brush teeth, use toilet and find clothes for the day, not necessarily in that order.
Let dogs back into the house and feed them.
Jump into shower, get dressed.
Pack lunch and work bag.
Grab a bite to eat and something to drink, fill water bottle.
Put on riding gear; Techpant Overtrouser by Endura, super bright yellow windbreaker jacket from REI, and Sugoi vest, Spider gloves, Pearl Izumi liner, and Bell Ghisallo helmet. I wear my regular work clothes underneath.
Set alarm system, lock up the house and pedal off to work.
If the weather is over 40 I'll wear a headband instead of the liner and regular biking gloves instead of the Spider gloves. Once the weather gets really cold I'll add another layer under the jacket and possibly long underwear. As I said earlier now that it's getting cold I'll start showering before bed and also get my lunch ready and work bag packed the night before. This will save me some time in the morning. At this time of the year I have to dress for a 20 degree difference between the time I ride to work and the time I ride home. Example at 0530 this morning the temp was 27 degrees, at 1430 the temp was 50 degrees. The tech pants were packed in my work bag and the liner and Spider gloves were replaced with a headband and biking gloves.
I'm also looking at getting a new helmet, I really like the Nutcase helmets and hope to purchase one of those real soon. They have less ventilation which I hope will make it warmer and they come in some really fun designs. And while I'm looking at a new helmet I'll be checking out new gloves too. The pair I have work great for skiing but my hands don't move enough on the bike and my fingers were pretty cold this morning. I plan to check out those claw gloves. I had a great hand warming idea on my ride home today that if it works could be a great new invention for us bike commuters. I'm not saying anything at the moment but the idea has been formed in my mind now I just need to figure out how to bring it to life.
I've checked into studded tires and I'm not sure if I'll be able to get them to fit my rims. My tires are 700cX 28 and the smallest studded tires I've been able to find were 32's I don't know if they will work or not. The young gentleman at the bike shop thought they might. I guess I'll find out after the snow starts to fly. In the mean time the Armadillo Nimbus tires will have to do. If all else fails I can ride my mountain bike when it snows, I know I can get studded tires for that one.
Well, that's all for today...
I have my routine down fairly good, this morning I even had time to make and eat a bowl of oatmeal before heading to work. As the weather gets colder I plan to shower before I go to bed so I can keep some of the oils on my skin as protection. Taking a shower in the morning helps with waking up but it takes all of the oil from your skin and leaves you exposed to the elements.
My routine goes a little something like this:
cell phone alarm starts playing the Mexican hat dance at 0415
I crawl out of bed and let the dogs outside.
Brush teeth, use toilet and find clothes for the day, not necessarily in that order.
Let dogs back into the house and feed them.
Jump into shower, get dressed.
Pack lunch and work bag.
Grab a bite to eat and something to drink, fill water bottle.
Put on riding gear; Techpant Overtrouser by Endura, super bright yellow windbreaker jacket from REI, and Sugoi vest, Spider gloves, Pearl Izumi liner, and Bell Ghisallo helmet. I wear my regular work clothes underneath.
Set alarm system, lock up the house and pedal off to work.
If the weather is over 40 I'll wear a headband instead of the liner and regular biking gloves instead of the Spider gloves. Once the weather gets really cold I'll add another layer under the jacket and possibly long underwear. As I said earlier now that it's getting cold I'll start showering before bed and also get my lunch ready and work bag packed the night before. This will save me some time in the morning. At this time of the year I have to dress for a 20 degree difference between the time I ride to work and the time I ride home. Example at 0530 this morning the temp was 27 degrees, at 1430 the temp was 50 degrees. The tech pants were packed in my work bag and the liner and Spider gloves were replaced with a headband and biking gloves.
I'm also looking at getting a new helmet, I really like the Nutcase helmets and hope to purchase one of those real soon. They have less ventilation which I hope will make it warmer and they come in some really fun designs. And while I'm looking at a new helmet I'll be checking out new gloves too. The pair I have work great for skiing but my hands don't move enough on the bike and my fingers were pretty cold this morning. I plan to check out those claw gloves. I had a great hand warming idea on my ride home today that if it works could be a great new invention for us bike commuters. I'm not saying anything at the moment but the idea has been formed in my mind now I just need to figure out how to bring it to life.
I've checked into studded tires and I'm not sure if I'll be able to get them to fit my rims. My tires are 700cX 28 and the smallest studded tires I've been able to find were 32's I don't know if they will work or not. The young gentleman at the bike shop thought they might. I guess I'll find out after the snow starts to fly. In the mean time the Armadillo Nimbus tires will have to do. If all else fails I can ride my mountain bike when it snows, I know I can get studded tires for that one.
Well, that's all for today...
