It never fails when cold weather
months come in. Even when it’s plenty cold outside – cold enough to warrant a
coat, hat, possibly a scarf and gloves – there always seems to be someone out
walking around in shorts. It could be snowing, raining, sleeting, or just plain
crazy cold, and sure enough, there’ll be somebody in shorts.
Same on the bike trail in the cold.
Always see bare-armed and bare-legged riders tooling along – grim faced, mind
you – in air temps in the 40s and 50s. Hey, but they’re suffering weather they
want to admit it or not.
So why freeze your nads off when
you don’t have to? What’s the deal? Really don’t know the answer to that.
Closest I can come to it is that it’s a macho thing.
Cold? Hell, it isn’t cold out (yes
it is, it’s in the freakin’ 40s) the SUN’s out! Shorts are fine. Coat? Well,
maybe.
But riding a bike in air temp that
is in the 40s and 50s, is, because of the wind chilling that takes place, is more
like dealing with temps in the 30s and 40s, almost naked. Crazy!
So whenever I see a bare-armed,
bare-legged rider pass by when by any sane standards, it’s pretty damn chilly
out, I wonder: Are you kidding? I know you’re freezing, it’s just not possible
to not be freezing. Maybe it's a goofy way to prove they’re tough, or someone
stole their warm cycling clothes and they really want to get a ride in without ‘em.
Whatever, while I like to be warm
enough to ride comfortably in cold weather, there’s truly a happy medium. Too
many layers and you can get hot. But layering with an undershirt, and a jersey
works, as does a pullover long sleeve jersey, as does a windbreaker. When it’s
cold but not crazy cold, arm warmers are an option to go with short-sleeved
jerseys.
Other than keeping your torso and
arms covered, the key to staying warm includes keeping key nether parts from
the freezing air: The head, the ears, the fingers the legs and the toes.
The head and the ears kinda go
together. If it’s super cold I wear a scull cap under my helmet, and it covers
the tops of the ears, which is big for heat retention.
Long-fingered gloves get the nod
for super cold rides, but I like having the dexterity of half-fingered gloves.
So I’ll usually wear them unless it’s just ridiculously cold.
And a couple of things keep the
toes and feet warm. Some riders wear foot covering booties, and others just a
toe cover. Beyond that, wool socks are good for full-on foot warmth.
Bottom line is to keep enough heat
in a cold weather ride so that you’re comfortable, not in cold torture mode.
Cold, low energy: Slog time
I went on some some cool weather
rides this week, after months of warm to hot weather rides. I found a couple of
factors along with the cold that made for slowish, slog-like rides of 30 to 50
miles. If my energy level is low to begin with, for whatever reason, be it lack
of sleep or physical tiredness from a lot of activity, a ride in the cold
weather makes it hard to get warmed up.
I recall from past cold rides that
I would ride as fast as I could at the start to try to get a lather going and
some energetic rhythm in the pedals. But on these past early cold season rides,
I haven’t had the initial energy to fire off from the start. It just hasn’t
been there, and the cold seemed to be clamping down on my leg muscles. So for
me at least, having plenty of energy at the start can get the pace going, and
that can minimize the effects of the cold as an obstacle to establishing a nice
crisp rhythm. Energy level is often different in some degree, every time out on
the bike, so it’s a matter of working with what you have that day.
So a low energy level in cold
weather, for me at least, means the ride’s probably going to be a bit of a
slog.
But once a few cold rides are under
the belt, I’m betting just being conditioned to them will result in higher
initial energy levels. As long as I get enough sleep in before the ride, that
is!
Paint job ruminations
I find the various paint jobs on
road bikes and others fascinating. Because when bikes of different brands cost
relatively the same for that weight and component mix, there really isn’t a
huge edge, technically, one holds over the other.
So what makes somebody buy one
brand of bike over another?
I think it’s the paint job. A rider
is definitely going to buy the brand of bike of his price range that has the
coolest paint job. But the thing is, there are trends in bike paint jobs, just
like in clothes. So what is the coolest paint job one year, may become quite
passé in another year or two, when an even cooler paint job is selling bikes. A
few short years ago, bikes with lime green, blue, white and black paint combos
were all the rage because Peter Sagan, on of the most popular cyclists in the
pro peloton, rode a Cannondale Evo pained with those colors.
After that, I noticed road bikes
with a flat black base finish and gray lettering became the big look. That I
really didn’t get, because, hey, isn’t a bike with some cool color combinations
more interesting than flat black?
Among the latest new trends in bike
paint jobs is a base of flat black with neon yellow logos and lettering.
Cippollini bikes sport this look, and I gotta say, they look very sleek. It
will definitely help those bikes sell. At least until the next way wicked color
combo comes along to sell another new line of bikes!
Til next time, remember to strap on
a helmet every time you get on the bike. Then, keep the rubber side down, ride
safely and don’t forget: Have a blast!
--
Mark Eric Larson
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