staying warm

Disclaimer: I am unusually warm most of the time. Find what works for you.

So, I've been thinking, what exactly do I do to keep warm? And honestly, I don't have the answers but I have some ideas. This morning, I saw that it was 23 degrees. This is what I wore:

• synthetic wool socks (I am vegan, you know)
• InSport spandex pants
• Winter boots
• Long sleeve Underarmor shirt
• Short sleeve shirt over the long sleeve
• Thin polyester hoodie
• GoreTex windproof/waterproof shell, with the arm vents unzipped
  
• bandanna tied around my neck
• Thinsulate gloves

That's it. No hat. No super heavy jacket. I was on the edge of being too warm. When I passed the bank sign on Beacon St. at 7:20, it said that it was 20 degrees. I feel like this is a bit ridiculous that I'm sweating in 20 degree weather wearing so little.

Riding back home today, at a tropical 31 degrees, I had to stop to take off my GoreTex jacket because it was just too much.

My advice? Layers! Layers! Layers. I always dress one layer less than I think I would wear if I was just walking outside. Pedaling your bike is like wearing that extra layer. You can always take that extra layer with you if you think it might get colder on your ride back.

My other advice: windproof and water proof things are wonderful things indeed. You just need to know when to use them, depending on what you're already wearing and what the weather is like. Windproof/waterproof things tend to keep things out ... and in. I feel like they somehow create a magical forcefield that keeps feeding heat into your body. Put on too many layers underneath a shell and it is like a furnace is inside your jacket.

Gloves. Mittens. You need them. Suck it up and buy a nice warm pair. If anything is going to get mighty cold first, it's your fingertips. And it's going to be the so-freezing-and-numb-it-hurts kind of cold.

Face/head coverage is also pretty key. I am perfectly content to ride with a bandanna around my neck. If it gets too cold on my face, then I pull it up. If it's just sitting there on my neck, I use it to wipe my nose since it will inevitably drip from the cold. Everyone wins. I rarely wear a hat under my helmet. I've had good luck with wearing thin polyester hats, though.

Also, long johns, spandex, leggings, whatever, underneath are ESSENTIAL. Sometimes I forgo the extra layer of jeans on top if I don't fee like dealing with it. This winter I've said this more than once: "I've just accepted wearing spandex under my jeans everyday is a fact of my life."

Ride on!