winter is coming

East Spain? If you don't mind looking like a complete dork, there is always a Scuba Diving wetsuit
(no flippers or mask needed). Just get naked, cover yerself in cornstarch or talc and suit up.
You'll be totally slick in the rain/winds and the rubber will keep in body heat to keep you warm. I
personally prefer black rubber (no eroticism comment pleeez), but if you wanted to really be noticed
in the rain/dark and the whole dork look is okay...get the bright yellow wetsuit.....hmmm yellow
rubber dork on a bent
***********************************************

"jabonet73" <[email hidden]> wrote in message
"]news:[email hidden]...

Quoted message said:

Just new to bents. I don´t have a car, and the winter is getting closer and closer. I use the bike
to comute to work everyday! for the past 3 months, some 110Miles per week, can anybody give some
words of wisdom to survive the winter, I live in east Spain, have a USS M5 26/26, could like to
know any trick to ride with heavy rain and/or cross winds, anything that may helps. temperatures
here are adobe freezing, but very windy and quite wet.

--
M5 26/26

Quoted message said:

--------------------------<

Posted via cyclingforums.com cyclingforums.comcyclingforums.comOpen ↗

Spain?

Consider yourself lucky, I'm in Bristol, England and at approximately 800 miles NORTH it gets even more rain etc.

Seems we just have to choose our time to ride and hope we don't get webbed feet!

Here is one of my _CHEAP_ tricks.

In the winter I always carry a plastic 'shower cap' with me. I don't mean the thick plastic kind
that you keep in your house. These are the kind that look more like a sandwich bag with elastic
around the bottom. You usually find this type in hotel rooms.

I put these either over my head, (generally when it's raining) or over my helmet, if I just want to
keep the cold wind off my head.

Also, I use a 'painter's mask' over my face, as a cheap alternative to the $20.00 Balaclavas that
the bike shops sell.

Hope this helps.

Lewis.

***********************************

jabonet73 <[email hidden]> wrote in message
news:<[email hidden]>...

Quoted message said:

Just new to bents. I don´t have a car, and the winter is getting closer and closer. I use the bike
to comute to work everyday! for the past 3 months, some 110Miles per week, can anybody give some
words of wisdom to survive the winter, I live in east Spain, have a USS M5 26/26, could like to
know any trick to ride with heavy rain and/or cross winds, anything that may helps. temperatures
here are adobe freezing, but very windy and quite wet.

In winter, I normally don't carry as much water or swallow as many salt pills. The Camelback ice may
not melt until the ride is over.

In another month it's going to drop below 90 degrees F. THEN it's cycling season.

Rod Kuehl Riverview, FL RANS V2 Bacchetta Strada (gettin' dressed up for the season)

"Lewis Campbell" <[email hidden]> wrote in message
"]news:[email hidden]...

Quoted message said:

Here is one of my _CHEAP_ tricks.

In the winter I always carry a plastic 'shower cap' with me. I don't mean the thick plastic kind
that you keep in your house. These are the kind that look more like a sandwich bag with elastic
around the bottom. You usually find this type in hotel rooms.

I put these either over my head, (generally when it's raining) or over my helmet, if I just want
to keep the cold wind off my head.

Also, I use a 'painter's mask' over my face, as a cheap alternative to the $20.00 Balaclavas that
the bike shops sell.

Hope this helps.

Lewis.

***********************************

jabonet73 <[email hidden]> wrote in message

news:<[email hidden]>...

Quoted message said:

Quoted message said:

Just new to bents. I don´t have a car, and the winter is getting closer and closer. I use the
bike to comute to work everyday! for the past 3 months, some 110Miles per week, can anybody give
some words of wisdom to survive the winter, I live in east Spain, have a USS M5 26/26, could
like to know any trick to ride with heavy rain and/or cross winds, anything that may helps.
temperatures here are adobe freezing, but very windy and quite wet.

"Rod" <[email hidden]> wrote in :"]news:[email hidden]:

Quoted message said:

In winter, I normally don't carry as much water or swallow as many salt pills. The Camelback ice
may not melt until the ride is over.

In another month it's going to drop below 90 degrees F. THEN it's cycling season.

PLLLLP!

rorschandt Indiana, where a lot of rain isn't a big deal until it freezes.

jabonet73 <[email hidden]> wrote in message news

Quoted message said:

Just new to bents. I don´t have a car, and the winter is getting closer and closer. I use the bike
to comute to work everyday! for the past 3 months, some 110Miles per week, can anybody give some
words of wisdom to survive the winter, I live in east Spain, have a USS M5 26/26, could like to
know any trick to ride with heavy rain and/or cross winds, anything that may helps. temperatures
here are adobe freezing, but very windy and quite wet.

I live in Denmark and uses my bike to work (15km each way) every day, and about 2 months of that
will most likely be below 0 deg. C. (and raining, as it is Denmark).

My setup (for temeratures around 0):

1) The most important point I find is to stay protected from the wind. I use a Gore Windstopper
jacket. It is not totally waterproof but absolutely windproof. And nice to wear even for one
sweathing as much as I am ;-)

2) Then if it's raining and around 0, I'll have some wind- (and water-) proof trousers.

3) My helmet, and if its really cold, a thin hut below that to cover the ears. Mine covers the neck
and mouth too, if I want it.

4) Glasses!! A pair of cycling glasses and your seight will be worse than on a sunny day without the
classes, _but_ they will be open and relaxed even when its raining badly.

5) Some gloves. Mine are not water-proof, but wind-proof. How thick they have to be is a very
personal issue.

6) Maybe something to protect your feet (beside from shoes, I mean), to keep them dry and warm. You
can get some nice shoe-covers to put over them, if you feel you need it.

7) just below 0 I start wearing thin, wollen, sports-underwear. The type some use for skiing

With this stuff on, I find cycling in bad weater absolutely no problem. Behind all the
wind-protection and the glasses, the rain is like something, that does not concern me, and I can
just keep on moving (although not just as fast as in the summertime).

p.s.When it get icy I also mount tires with spikes (makes more exercise) and goes on driving nearly
as before, and in the same cloth, just add another thin layer below. I also forgot to mention a
lot of light on the bike, as the car-drivers (me included) cannot se as well in their mirrows
when it's raining.

Nice riding,

Anders

jabonet73 <[email hidden]> wrote in message
news:<[email hidden]>...

Quoted message said:

temperatures here are adobe freezing, but very windy and quite wet.

Wow, I knew they had winter in Spain, but I didn't know it got cold enough to freeze adobe! ;-)

You might find that a Lexan fairing makes your winter rides more comfortable. If you don't have one
of those, then you'll defintely want to get yourself some neoprene "booties" that go over your
cycling shoes, and some good Gore-Tex gloves, since feet and hands seem to be the first parts of the
body to go numb on a bike in winter. Beyond that, you'll need warm wind-blocking clothes, a rain
suit for wet days, good tires, fenders, blinkie lights, and good health insurance. Around here we
PRAY for rain!

Bill Anton 2001 Vision R-40 SWB, OSS Lubbock, TX, USA

pedal&pint <[email hidden]> wrote:
: Spain?

: Consider yourself lucky, I'm in Bristol, England and at approximately 800 miles NORTH it gets even
: more rain etc.

Well :-) Around here we don't get too much rain during the winter months, for obvious reasons...

A trike could be extremely stable in crosswinds. A fairing would protect from wind, cold and rain.

Can't wait to try my trike on some glass-smooth ice =)

--
Risto Varanka | helsinki.fihpv.htmlOpen ↗ varis at no spam please iki fi

Anders HJ said:

My setup (for temeratures around 0):

On which temperature scale?

Quoted message said:

1) The most important point I find is to stay protected from the wind. I use a Gore Windstopper
jacket. It is not totally waterproof but absolutely windproof. And nice to wear even for one
sweathing as much as I am ;-)

FWIW, I find it useful to be under-dressed a bit, so that I feel cool when I first hit the road, but
so that I'm not schvitzing like crazy by the 1/4 point of my commute. For me, under-dressing by
about 20F is about right to be comfortable most of the time.

Few things are less amusing in winter than getting hot and sweaty and then being hit by an icy gust
of wind which goes straight down the back of your jacket.

Quoted message said:

3) My helmet, and if its really cold, a thin hut below that to cover the ears. Mine covers the
neck and mouth too, if I want it.

I've also found putting some celophane tape over the front vent holes in my helmet useful in keeping
my head warm.

scott

"R. Scott Buchanan" skrev...

Quoted message said:

Anders HJ said:

My setup (for temeratures around 0):

On which temperature scale?

Celcius. Hes danish.

M.

R. Scott Buchanan said:

Anders HJ said:

My setup (for temeratures around 0):

On which temperature scale?...

Kelvin. 😉

Tom Sherman - Near the confluence of the Mississippi and Rock Rivers

"Mikael Seierup" <[email hidden]> wrote in message
news:<[email hidden]>...

Quoted message said:

"R. Scott Buchanan" skrev...

Quoted message said:

Anders HJ said:

My setup (for temeratures around 0):

On which temperature scale?

Celcius. Hes danish.

Mikael is right :-)

Anders

"R. Scott Buchanan" <[email hidden]> wrote in message
news:<[email hidden]>...

Quoted message said:

Anders HJ said:

My setup (for temeratures around 0):

On which temperature scale?

Quoted message said:

1) The most important point I find is to stay protected from the wind. I use a Gore Windstopper
jacket. It is not totally waterproof but absolutely windproof. And nice to wear even for one
sweathing as much as I am ;-)

FWIW, I find it useful to be under-dressed a bit,...

Me too, but no matter what I do, I will be sweating after a few kilometers, and then, as you, fell
warm without too many layers on. In the wintertime i useually change my perspective from getting
there as fast as possible and enjoying the speed to just getting there and having 40 minutes to
think about life, the universe and all that :-)

And I must say that yesterday I actually chose to ride home in something totally sweath- (and
water-)proof, and was quite happy with it as I got the chance to see a quite large pool of water
from below. I was riding joyfully ahead (in a lot of rain) when a car passed on the road 1 meter
above the cycle track, transferred a water pool about 15cm deep to a beautifull cascade of water
that flew above the cycle track and reached the ground (and me) just as I came by. It actually
looked quite good and there was nothing to do but laugh ;->

Quoted message said:

I've also found putting some celophane tape over the front vent holes in my helmet useful in
keeping my head warm.

I think I'll try that in the winter too.

Regards, Anders

[email hidden] (Bill Anton) wrote in message
news:<[email hidden]>...

Quoted message said:

jabonet73 <[email hidden]> wrote in message
news:<[email hidden]>...

Quoted message said:

temperatures here are adobe freezing, but very windy and quite wet.

Wow, I knew they had winter in Spain, but I didn't know it got cold enough to freeze adobe! ;-)

You might find that a Lexan fairing makes your winter rides more comfortable. If you don't have
one of those, then you'll defintely want to get yourself some neoprene "booties" that go over your
cycling shoes, and some good Gore-Tex gloves, since feet and hands seem to be the first parts of
the body to go numb on a bike in winter. Beyond that, you'll need warm wind-blocking clothes, a
rain suit for wet days, good tires, fenders, blinkie lights, and good health insurance. Around
here we PRAY for rain!

Bill Anton 2001 Vision R-40 SWB, OSS Lubbock, TX, USA

Best addition I made last year to my winter riding was a balaclava. Amazing how much body heat is
conserved by covering up the face and head. Heavy Lobster claw gloves helped with the hands. Long
silk underwear under the pants helped with the legs. Layering two or three jerseys plus a medium
weight jacket helped with the upper torso. I couldn't find anything that would keep the feet warm
after about an hour and fifteen minutes. Until then the neoprene booties helped. Just thinking of
this stuff gets me sick. Where did summer go?

Mike S. St. Louis, Mo.

Ah, Winter riding in NE Ohio consists of dragging out the Krietler's and riding to a Bela Fleck (&
the Flecktones) dvd, all the while chanting the mantra, "Spring is just around the corner."

BentJay

Quoted post said:

Originally posted by Mike S
[ Where did summer go?

[/B]

It's down here at last!
Ha Ha!

Pete
OzHPV Canberra
Australia

My biggest concern with the idea of "underdressing slightly" is that if I have a flat on the
ride (my ride to work is ~1-1/2 hours) I will become chilled during the ~20 minutes it takes to
change a tube.

So I tend to overdress, so I get too warm during the ride. But I figure better too warm
than too cold.

My $0.02 worth from Silicon Valley where a cold winter morning is ~35F (2C)

<Chas> Haluzak Hybrid Race -- the inline wheelchair

[email hidden] (mike s) wrote in message
news:<[email hidden]>...

Quoted message said:

Best addition I made last year to my winter riding was a balaclava. Amazing how much body heat is
conserved by covering up the face and head. Heavy Lobster claw gloves helped with the hands. Long
silk underwear under the pants helped with the legs. Layering two or three jerseys plus a medium
weight jacket helped with the upper torso. I couldn't find anything that would keep the feet warm
after about an hour and fifteen minutes. Until then the neoprene booties helped. Just thinking of
this stuff gets me sick. Where did summer go?

Mike S. St. Louis, Mo.

If the neoprene booties aren't enough, you can always throw some of those chem-heat boot warmers in
your shoes (but outside your socks) for 6 hours of toasty feet.

Bill Anton 2001 Vision R-40 SWB, OSS Lubbock, TX, USA

mike s said:

Best addition I made last year to my winter riding was a balaclava. Amazing how much body heat is
conserved by covering up the face and head. Heavy Lobster claw gloves helped with the hands. Long
silk underwear under the pants helped with the legs. Layering two or three jerseys plus a medium
weight jacket helped with the upper torso. I couldn't find anything that would keep the feet warm
after about an hour and fifteen minutes. Until then the neoprene booties helped. Just thinking of
this stuff gets me sick. Where did summer go?

Mike,

I was not aware that real winter occurred in St. Louis. 😉

Tom Sherman - Near the confluence of the Mississippi and Rock Rivers