12F (-11C) commute today

dgk said:

My first extra cold one. So here I sit at work with my co-workers
thinking that I'm REALLY nuts. But it actually wasn't too bad.

My battery powered mittens were the HUGE success story. I wore a

glove

Quoted message said:

liner under them and only the thumbs got chilly. I pulled them up

into

Quoted message said:

the mittens for part of the trip but then they got warm enough to

drop

Quoted message said:

them back down again.

I put on those Cold Lizard arm warmers that I bought back in October
but never needed (until now). My hand slipped off while pulling on

the

Quoted message said:

left one and I managed to punch myself in the lip. Very nicely done
but not much blood shed. My tongue keep going over to check out the
booboo.

I wore my snow boots with two socks and the outer (Cannondale)

bootie.

Quoted message said:

My toes still got cold. I am now looking for battery powered socks.
Somewhere in NYC they must be sold. The outdoors stores open around
10AM so I'll call around after that.

I wore C9 (Target brand) tights under my jeans. Just a bit cold at

the

Quoted message said:

start but the legs warm up rapidly. Main body area was a C9 shirt,
ProSpirit polyester middle layer, and Cannondale jacket/windbreaker.
Pretty light stuff for 12 degrees but I might even have opened up a
zipper if I could have figured out a way to do so in mittens.

The heavy bacalava was pressed into service, along with a neoprene
face mask. The only problem there was the lack of a discharge tube

for

Quoted message said:

the free-flowing mucus. Yech.

Hmm. I seem to have neglected to mention the flat tire. Yup, yet
again, going across the 59th Street Bridge, air is low in the back. I
pump some in, make it another mile, pump some more in. I limp to

work.

Quoted message said:

I'll drag it to the LBS during lunch. This is getting annoying.

Still, all in all, there is no reason that I cannot do cold weather
commuting. Oh, did I mention the forecast for snow this afternoon?
Should make for a more exciting ride home.

You live in NYC and you rode your bike to work? What are you, an Iron
man? It's freaking freezing out there today and snow is on the way.
How the heck will you get home? What would possess you to ride a bike
to work today? Did you ever hear of mass transit. My son works in the
city and he said its really bitter. Worse than back here in suburban
NJ. And you have to go over the bridge too? You deserve a medal...or a
room with padded walls. ;-) Be careful on your ride home. If it's
snowing I hope you find another way or sleep there.
Maggie

On 19 Jan 2005 07:37:20 -0800, "Maggie" <[email hidden]>

Quoted message said:

...

Quoted message said:

Still, all in all, there is no reason that I cannot do cold weather
commuting. Oh, did I mention the forecast for snow this afternoon?
Should make for a more exciting ride home.

You live in NYC and you rode your bike to work? What are you, an Iron
man? It's freaking freezing out there today and snow is on the way.
How the heck will you get home? What would possess you to ride a bike
to work today? Did you ever hear of mass transit. My son works in the
city and he said its really bitter. Worse than back here in suburban
NJ. And you have to go over the bridge too? You deserve a medal...or a
room with padded walls. ;-) Be careful on your ride home. If it's
snowing I hope you find another way or sleep there.
Maggie

But that was the whole point Maggie! It just wasn't so bad. And I HATE
waiting for the bus. I get colder doing that than biking in. Actually
this winter I made a deal with myself. If the weather was so bad that
I couldn't bike, I wasn't waiting for that bus either. I drive my car
to the parking lot by Shea Stadium (park 'n ride, $3) and take the
train from there.

Maggie said:

You live in NYC and you rode your bike to work? What are you, an Iron
man? It's freaking freezing out there today and snow is on the way.
How the heck will you get home? What would possess you to ride a bike
to work today? Did you ever hear of mass transit. My son works in the
city and he said its really bitter. Worse than back here in suburban
NJ. And you have to go over the bridge too? You deserve a medal...or a
room with padded walls. ;-) Be careful on your ride home. If it's
snowing I hope you find another way or sleep there.
Maggie

Funny, I was thinking that today feels like a heat wave.

Seriously. Yesterday was so miserable, today 19º and not too
windy is a dream.

--
Steven O'Neill [email hidden]

dgk said:

My first extra cold one. So here I sit at work with my co-workers
thinking that I'm REALLY nuts. But it actually wasn't too bad.

I had the same experience.

Quoted message said:

Still, all in all, there is no reason that I cannot do cold weather
commuting. Oh, did I mention the forecast for snow this afternoon?
Should make for a more exciting ride home.

But at least it should be warmer for the ride home.

--

David L. Johnson

__o | "What am I on? I'm on my bike, six hours a day, busting my ass.
_`\(,_ | What are you on?" --Lance Armstrong
(_)/ (_) |

Steven M. O'Neill said:

Maggie said:

You live in NYC and you rode your bike to work? What are you, an

Iron

Quoted message said:

Quoted message said:

man? It's freaking freezing out there today and snow is on the way.
How the heck will you get home? What would possess you to ride a

bike

Quoted message said:

Quoted message said:

to work today? Did you ever hear of mass transit. My son works in

the

Quoted message said:

Quoted message said:

city and he said its really bitter. Worse than back here in suburban
NJ. And you have to go over the bridge too? You deserve a

medal...or a

Quoted message said:

Quoted message said:

room with padded walls. ;-) Be careful on your ride home. If it's
snowing I hope you find another way or sleep there.
Maggie

Funny, I was thinking that today feels like a heat wave.

Seriously. Yesterday was so miserable, today 19º and not too
windy is a dream.

--
Steven O'Neill

[email hidden]
77 F and sunny, little wind today. Gee southern Arizona is wonderful.

gds said:

77 F and sunny, little wind today. Gee southern Arizona is wonderful.

Sure, this time of year. It's the summer that sucks there (>100F).

Matt O.

Matt O'Toole said:

gds said:

77 F and sunny, little wind today. Gee southern Arizona is

wonderful.

Quoted message said:

Sure, this time of year. It's the summer that sucks there (>100F).

Matt O.

I'll trade it any day--In fact I did!
Summers here are actually quite nice.With low humididty we don't even
turn on the A/C until we are over 95 for a week. Nights and early
mornings are in the 70's. We have mountains going over 9000' and the
temp up there never goes above ~80.

Manage to cycle or hike every day during the summer. Just want to be
out of the sun by 10.
Summer in Tucson-best little secret around.

dgk said:

My first extra cold one. So here I sit at work with my co-workers
thinking that I'm REALLY nuts. But it actually wasn't too bad.

My battery powered mittens were the HUGE success story. I wore a glove
liner under them and only the thumbs got chilly. I pulled them up into
the mittens for part of the trip but then they got warm enough to drop
them back down again.

Battery powered gear is lame. Too expensive, complex, wasteful, and
requires maintenance. Do you recharge the batteries? Pain in the ass. Do
you use throwaways? Bad for the environment and too expensive. You can
buy regular mittens suitable for riding in -20C for under $20 (gordini
is a good brand). Same goes for socks. I hope you're wearing wool and
not cotton, try some wigwam brand hiking socks (they make one called the
-40C sock, costs about $10 a pair I think, lasts forever).

I'm the first one to get cold fingers, the first one to start wearing
gloves in the fall, and the first to say: ditch the batteries and keep
riding.

In article <[email hidden]>,

dgk said:

Hmm. I seem to have neglected to mention the flat tire. Yup, yet
again, going across the 59th Street Bridge

You've gotta figure out some way to levitate over that thing :-)

cheers,
Tom

--
-- Nothing is safe from me.
Above address is just a spam midden.
I'm really at: tkeats [curlicue] vcn [point] bc [point] ca

Jacobe Hazzard said:

dgk said:

My first extra cold one. So here I sit at work with my co-workers
thinking that I'm REALLY nuts. But it actually wasn't too bad.

My battery powered mittens were the HUGE success story. I wore a glove
liner under them and only the thumbs got chilly. I pulled them up into
the mittens for part of the trip but then they got warm enough to drop
them back down again.

Battery powered gear is lame. Too expensive, complex, wasteful, and
requires maintenance. Do you recharge the batteries? Pain in the ass. Do
you use throwaways? Bad for the environment and too expensive. You can
buy regular mittens suitable for riding in -20C for under $20 (gordini
is a good brand). Same goes for socks. I hope you're wearing wool and
not cotton, try some wigwam brand hiking socks (they make one called the
-40C sock, costs about $10 a pair I think, lasts forever).

I'm the first one to get cold fingers, the first one to start wearing
gloves in the fall, and the first to say: ditch the batteries and keep
riding.

I must disagree. While I'm not very experienced in winter biking, my
fingers get cold very easily; enough so that I was thinking that I
just can't do really cold commuting. I tried a few gloves including PI
lobster gloves. I just returned them. You have a definite point about
the mittens though. I just biked home in a snow storm at 25 degrees
with the battery mittens, without the battery. Mittens are much better
than gloves. A bit rough for changing gears though. Luckily I have the
grip shifts or it simply wouldn't be possible.

I'm not sure what is complex or expensive about the battery gear
though. It's really pretty simple stuff. Maybe it won't last as long
as non-battery gear but the mittens are much cheaper ($26) than the PI
gloves ($40+). Recharging batteries is hardly a PITA. I recharge that
big lead-acid guy that I use for lights daily. I have a nice charger
at work that I use for 2 D cells for the mittens, and it can do two
more for the socks when needed. I also throw in the AAs that I use for
my discman and backup light. Put em in, wait for the light to go out,
take em out. Couldn't be much simpler.

I did get a few heavy wool socks and they do a pretty good job. I'll
look into the wigwam hiking socks. Too bad I didn't read this until
tonight since I was just at Paragon and they must have them. I even
looked at some of the socks since I was there to buy the battery ones.
Great, another excuse to hit that fine store. I dashed in during lunch
and it took a good half hour to get me out. Nice helmet cover that I
might have to buy. No rain pants in my size though. 40% off most bike
gear at the moment. Of course, it's 40% off of overpriced stuff to
begin with. The first rain pants I looked at were $200. I can get a
whole scuba suit for that.

dgk said:

My battery powered mittens were the HUGE success story. I wore a glove
liner under them and only the thumbs got chilly. I pulled them up into
the mittens for part of the trip but then they got warm enough to drop
them back down again.

I would think that ski mittens, not gloves, would do the job well.

Tonight is normally my weekly bike trip for Pakistani take out. It's 23F
right now and snowing. I'm passing for this week.

Don <donwiss at panix.com>.

dgk said:

Too bad I didn't read this until
tonight since I was just at Paragon and

Be careful leaving your bike out in front. It's a high theft spot. This as
the thieves know there are always good bikes there, though presumably they
aren't too active at this time of year.

Don <donwiss at panix.com>.

It was 9 degrees F this morning and comfy with Cabela's 200
gram thinsulate snowmobile mittens (they make a 300-gram version, too)
and silk/wool liner gloves.

The full get-up:

Helmet (that foam does insulate).
Thick n' thin balaclava (thin on top, fleece over the face).
Cotton long-sleeve tee, thick flannel shirt, windproof dual-layer
fleece vest, wool vest, windproof fleece jacket - unzipped after first
mile.
Cabela's heavyweight silk longjohns, cottton BDU cargo pants - clipped
almost shut at the cuff with binder clamps.
Thin cotton socks under two pairs of Wooly-Bully socks, one pair of
200-gram thinsulate socks, and Merrell insulated waterproof mocs -
three sizes oversized - should've looked to see if they came in a wide
size.

Cold? What cold?

Tip: tie some ribbon zipper pulls to your zippers so they can
be grabbed with mittens. And one other thing - when it's this cold,
don't even think of grabbing your bike or a lock with your bare hands
- keep the liners on, at least.

You got to be very careful if you don't know where you're going, because you might not get there.

- Yogi Berra

Snortley said:

It was 9 degrees F this morning

That's so cold I'd be scared of the condensation in my brake lines
freezing solid. It's happened to me commuting in Chicago, but a nice
tavern let me take my bike in to thaw. Quite disconcerting to say the
least--thank goodness for grippy boots. LOL

man, this is making me feel pretty cold-resistant.

I rode 8 miles from Brooklyn to Midtown every day this week (including
last Sunday) with:

specialized sub-zero gloves and liners (really, really great touch with
these)
perl izumi fleece lined thermal tights
regular bike shorts over top the tights
smartwool socks + smartwool sock liner + booties over my shimano spd
shoes
north face thermal tee + rei thermal longsleeve + rei bike wind shell
headband covering the ears + regular bike helmet

I'd have been too hot in a hat or balaklava, I think, and any more on
my torso or legs would have been too much. I rode monday without
booties and that was a big mistake.

i wasn't cold for more than a block with this setup any day that I
rode. I do tend to haul ass, though, so that keeps me pretty warm.
Riding home in the snow was the only day that I felt a chill as I was
keeping my speed down to stay safe.

The only thing I feel like I need is something to keep my eyes from
tearing. My sunglasses don't do the job... any ideas?

n9 said:

The only thing I feel like I need is something to keep my eyes from
tearing. My sunglasses don't do the job... any ideas?

Flip around in this site. You might find a pair there....

http://www.panoptx.com/

Wow that is either incredibly impressive or incredibly stupid, but I am very
impressed nonetheless.
How many miles do you have to ride?

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

Quoted message said:

My first extra cold one. So here I sit at work with my co-workers
thinking that I'm REALLY nuts. But it actually wasn't too bad.

My battery powered mittens were the HUGE success story. I wore a glove
liner under them and only the thumbs got chilly. I pulled them up into
the mittens for part of the trip but then they got warm enough to drop
them back down again.

I put on those Cold Lizard arm warmers that I bought back in October
but never needed (until now). My hand slipped off while pulling on the
left one and I managed to punch myself in the lip. Very nicely done
but not much blood shed. My tongue keep going over to check out the
booboo.

I wore my snow boots with two socks and the outer (Cannondale) bootie.
My toes still got cold. I am now looking for battery powered socks.
Somewhere in NYC they must be sold. The outdoors stores open around
10AM so I'll call around after that.

I wore C9 (Target brand) tights under my jeans. Just a bit cold at the
start but the legs warm up rapidly. Main body area was a C9 shirt,
ProSpirit polyester middle layer, and Cannondale jacket/windbreaker.
Pretty light stuff for 12 degrees but I might even have opened up a
zipper if I could have figured out a way to do so in mittens.

The heavy bacalava was pressed into service, along with a neoprene
face mask. The only problem there was the lack of a discharge tube for
the free-flowing mucus. Yech.

Hmm. I seem to have neglected to mention the flat tire. Yup, yet
again, going across the 59th Street Bridge, air is low in the back. I
pump some in, make it another mile, pump some more in. I limp to work.
I'll drag it to the LBS during lunch. This is getting annoying.

Still, all in all, there is no reason that I cannot do cold weather
commuting. Oh, did I mention the forecast for snow this afternoon?
Should make for a more exciting ride home.

On Sun, 23 Jan 2005 02:45:27 GMT, "Neil Brooks" <[email hidden]>

Quoted message said:

n9 said:

The only thing I feel like I need is something to keep my eyes from
tearing. My sunglasses don't do the job... any ideas?

Flip around in this site. You might find a pair there....

http://www.panoptx.com/

I made it through to the end but the site doesn't let you buy at the
moment so I can't even find out the price. I can guarantee that
they're too expensive for me. Still, if I didn't need them at 12F I am
not likely to need them at all.

Don Wiss said:

On Wed, 19 Jan 2005, dgk <[email hidden]>

Quoted message said:

Quoted message said:

My battery powered mittens were the HUGE success story. I wore a

glove

Quoted message said:

Quoted message said:

liner under them and only the thumbs got chilly. I pulled them up

into

Quoted message said:

Quoted message said:

the mittens for part of the trip but then they got warm enough to

drop

Quoted message said:

Quoted message said:

them back down again.

I would think that ski mittens, not gloves, would do the job well.

I wear wool inner mittens and a leather outer mitten, myself, so I
agree with you.

But I think dgk is getting a bit beat up over this issue, as I read
this entire thread. These mittens work for him. He's riding where he
wasn't riding before. That's a good thing.