WINTER
Biking in a blizzard Jan 2008.
Yes. It IS possible to bike year round, even in cold cold winter. Here are a few tips to help you bike year round.
CLOTHES - Dressing for the weather makes all the difference. Here are some things the kids and I have learned over the years.
A WARM MUG OF...- An insulated mug or thermos of your favorite tea or cocoa is a great way to warm quickly during your ride. It also helps you thaw out when you arrive at your destination.
ATTITUDE - The key to pretty much everything in life is a positive outlook.. If you believe you can, you can. Here are a few thoughts to keep in mind while bike commuting in winter. It's not really that far. It won't take that long. It's not cold or freezing: it's brisk, refreshing, invigorating, exhilarating! If you get too cold, you can always stop and warm up or call for a ride. My first years biking with my kids, we didn't ride December through February. I thought it was just too cold. I feared that my kids would freeze to death or lose appendages to frost bite, so in winter we drove. I didn't think it was possible to ride when it was much colder than 30. The next year, we decided to bike anytime the temperature was over 20, which is surprisingly often. We learned a few really important lessons that winter: 1) The 20s aren't that cold when you are being active. We invariably had to stop to shed layers on the way to school each day. 2) It doesn't really take that long to get around by bike. Most trips in town are about 15 to 20 minutes. I don't even know if it's possible to freeze to death or develop frost bite in that short of time biking around Columbia. 3) We are biking in town. If we were to get in a bind and find ourselves on the verge of actually freezing to death or having a limb fall off due to frostbite, we could stop and go inside a shop or knock on someone's front door or call a friend to pick us up. Realizing that no one was likely to actually die from biking to school or work in the winter, we started pushing our limits bit by bit. Surprisingly, we have not lost any limbs nor frozen to death yet.
CLOTHES - Dressing for the weather makes all the difference. Here are some things the kids and I have learned over the years.
- Dress for the second mile! If you are warm when you walk out the door, you will be sweating in about 5 minutes. Right when you get outside, you should feel slightly cool but comfortable. As you bike, you will start generating heat, especially in your core and your legs. You need to able to dissipate that heat quickly so you don't start sweating. Sweating is bad in winter. When your body gets wet from sweat, you get really cold.
- Layers! Layers! Layers! - Got that? Big bulky coats are not your best bet for winter biking. They hold in too much heat, make it difficult to maneuver your bike, and don't offer options while biking...you have on a big bulky coat, or you don't. Layers allow you to quickly and easily adapt and stay comfortable. AND you don't need to buy a new coat, you probably already have most layers you need around the house. For most situations, a thin under-layer (short or long sleeved t-shirt, long john shirt, any shirt), insulating layer (sweater, sweatshirt, fleece), wind breaking outer-layer (synthetic wind/ rain resistant fabric that will block wind). These three layers are your key pieces to staying warm through all but the coldest weather. As the temperatures drop, you can add layers to your legs following the same model: thin under-layer (tights, long johns - It is amazing what a difference these make), insulating layer (pants, jeans), wind breaking outer-layer (synthetic wind/rain resistant pants). With these combinations of layers, you can bike comfortably in all but the most extreme conditions. When the weather gets extremely cold, you just add more layers (maybe 2 insulating layers) and/or go with slightly heavier weight outer-layers (snow pants, coveralls).
- Mind the gaps! - One of the simplest way to stay warm while biking in the cold. Is to close up the gaps where cold air gets in. Tuck in your shirt. Wear tall socks so your ankles and lower legs don't freeze. Pull your sleeves over you mittens/gloves to close the gap at your wrist. Wear a neck gator/scarf and zip your jacket all the way up. Another nice thing about having your gaps closed up is that as you start getting warm while riding you can easily open them a bit (unzip your jacket a little, untuck your shirt, push up your sleeves a bit) to release some heat.
- Extremities (Hands, Fingers, Ears, Toes, Face) - While you are biking your core and legs produce a lot of heat making it pretty easy to keep those parts warm. BUT your extremities can get really cold and are the most challenging things to keep warm. Here are some tips to keep you warm.
- Hands and Fingers - Fingers are probably the hardest things to keep warm while biking in winter. There are a lot of bike specific gloves out there that are rather expensive and, in my experience, not worth the money. This is what I have found to work best biking through the last five winters in Columbia. Glove liners (those thin stretchy cheap knit gloves that you can get almost anywhere for about $1) or Jersey gloves (those brown cotton work gloves that you can get at hardware stores for $1-2) with lined wool knit mittens (Peace Nook carries a great variety of these from Nepal that are Fair Trade for around $15). This is what I wore all last winter through both record snows (Jersey gloves with my lined wool mittens over them), I was amazed how warm they kept my fingers. After years of trying all kinds of high tech fabrics and bike specific gloves, I found this simple inexpensive to be the warmest. I stock up on Jersey gloves and those cheap glove liners so we have extra pairs that we can keep in the bottom of backpacks and panniers for emergencies and I keep one favorite pair of wool mittens with me. Another really good way to keep hands warm is with hunting mittens or gloves. Hunting gear is made of people who sit out in the cold for a long time so it is generally really good for winter biking. It also comes in blaze orange, which also makes it great for winter biking...blaze orange are great for signaling turns on dreary winter days. Sometimes you can find blaze orange mittens that are designed for shooting, so the finger tops can fold back exposing gloved finger tips. This is great for fastening helmets and zippers without having to take off your mittens. Wal-Mart (not my favorite place in the world, but sometimes they have what you need) and Bass Pro shop both sell hunting gear. It is worth you time to explore the hunting glove/mitten options they have. NOTE: If your kiddo has grip shifters, they may find shifting more difficult with gloves/mittens on. Look for gloves/mittens that have a 'grippy' palm surface and are relatively thin. You might also want to consider a product like Bar Mitts for their bike.
- Ears, Face, Neck - Ears get cold quickly in winter. A thin stocking cap or headband made from a non-itching synthetic fabric is great for keeping ears warm under a bike helmet. When the temperatures start dropping into the teens and twenties or if you tend to get cold easily, you will want to protect your face to keep it warm. The easiest way to do this is with a balaclava or ski mask that covers your face leaving room for your eyes, nose and mouth. Another way is wear a thin stocking cap with a neck gator pulled up over your nose. I prefer the second option as I tend to get too hot and the neck gator lets me easily expose my lower face to the wind then cover it back up as needed.
- Eyes - Yes, your eyes can get cold too. Especially if you ride in temperatures near or below 20. To protect your eyes I recommend a pair of ski goggles. Ski goggles are designed for high speed winter sports and don't fog up like safety glasses can. Ski goggles are pretty comfortable, usually have pretty good peripheral vision, and often have UV protection.
- Toes and Feet - Like fingers, toes tend to get cold easily. A warm pair of boots and extra socks make all the difference. As you start biking through winter, it's time to put up the canvas sneakers and wear leather shoes or snow boots that cut the cold and keep feet warm. Don't forget the good socks! You can layer a couple pairs of cotton gyms socks, but SmartWool socks are hard to beat. They are fuzzy inside and keep your feet really warm. We call them happy feet socks around our house. You can get SmartWools at local camping shops: Walt's or Alpine store, Bass Pro also sells them.
A WARM MUG OF...- An insulated mug or thermos of your favorite tea or cocoa is a great way to warm quickly during your ride. It also helps you thaw out when you arrive at your destination.
ATTITUDE - The key to pretty much everything in life is a positive outlook.. If you believe you can, you can. Here are a few thoughts to keep in mind while bike commuting in winter. It's not really that far. It won't take that long. It's not cold or freezing: it's brisk, refreshing, invigorating, exhilarating! If you get too cold, you can always stop and warm up or call for a ride. My first years biking with my kids, we didn't ride December through February. I thought it was just too cold. I feared that my kids would freeze to death or lose appendages to frost bite, so in winter we drove. I didn't think it was possible to ride when it was much colder than 30. The next year, we decided to bike anytime the temperature was over 20, which is surprisingly often. We learned a few really important lessons that winter: 1) The 20s aren't that cold when you are being active. We invariably had to stop to shed layers on the way to school each day. 2) It doesn't really take that long to get around by bike. Most trips in town are about 15 to 20 minutes. I don't even know if it's possible to freeze to death or develop frost bite in that short of time biking around Columbia. 3) We are biking in town. If we were to get in a bind and find ourselves on the verge of actually freezing to death or having a limb fall off due to frostbite, we could stop and go inside a shop or knock on someone's front door or call a friend to pick us up. Realizing that no one was likely to actually die from biking to school or work in the winter, we started pushing our limits bit by bit. Surprisingly, we have not lost any limbs nor frozen to death yet.