Cold....so cold

ellbiddy

Active Member
So I just got back from my standard 20 mile road loop and only one word comes to mind, unprepared. After about 13 miles in my feet were numb beyond any numbness I have experienced thus far in my life. But I looked down at my forerunner and it said 13 miles..only 7 to go. So I keep pedaling and all of a sudden I hear the whirling hiss of death must have run something over in the shoulder. This is when it got bad and I realized how really effin cold it was, I took my glove off for a good 3-4 minutes to get a new tube in and it was totally numb by the time I put the glove on...so I spent a while pumping away at it. I was about to climb on till I realized my foot felt like one big lump so I figured I'd jog a mile to get my feet warm again. About 1/4-1/2 mile into my bike-jog I felt the intense dethawing pains 3-4 minutes later I was back on my biking churning away. By the time I got home I felt pretty good....

It wasn't until i got back in the house and took everything off till I realized my face wasn't warm but it was numb in the circle where my facemask left it exposed. My pinky toes felt like they weren't attached to my body for 20 minutes or so. So after all of that I realized I need some new winter wear....probably going to hit up halter's for some nice wind proof gear to help save me. New pair of mtb shoes, new winter boots, and probably some more gloves....good thing I got paid friday.
 

Norm

Mayor McCheese
Team MTBNJ Halter's
...all of a sudden I hear the whirling hiss of death must have run something over in the shoulder....

This may sounds odd, but this made me cringe more than reading Ryan's story last night. There are some days out there that a flat seems totally impossible to deal with - tonight would be one of them. I went outside for a minute tonight. It was 21 and windy. Just brutal. I can't imagine trying to change a flat in this.
 

ellbiddy

Active Member
Yeah tonight was one night where I would have given quite a bit to avoid a flat...tube karma I guess. My hands were so painfully cold following that bit.

Edit: I've officially put a stop to late night riding in the cold. I'll do cold riding and I'll do night riding, but the combination just made for a painful experience. It did however make the 20 mile loop feel like 15 minutes though as all I could focus on was which part of my body was numb instead of how far I had left.
 
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C

CultureCouture

Guest
And I thought I had it bad tonight with my 8:30pm outdoor soccer game in Hoboken, right off the Hudson- the wind was brutal. You win!
 

ellbiddy

Active Member
I wish I still played soccer, I spent more than half of my life playing, but I just kind of wandered away from it. I play pick up games here and there but nothing major. I also realized that tonight was the only time in my life where I thought I might seriously get frostbite and lose a toe or five :rofl:
 

jdog

Shop: Halter's Cycles
Shop Keep
If you have removable valve cores on you tube than you inject some stan's sealant in you tubes. In the winter there is nothing worse than a flat.

If you don't have removable cores you can cut a tiny hole in the tube to insert the sealant though. Then just patch the hole.
 

rlb

Well-Known Member
As I stepped outside at 9:30 last night to head home I was wondering what it would be like to ride on the road in that cold/wind. I guess I never really want to find out!
 

The Kalmyk

Well-Known Member
To add to Jdogs post, you might consider mixing Stan's and Slime...Slime has anti-freeze in it....
 

RacerChick

Hudson Valley Girl
So after all of that I realized I need some new winter wear....probably going to hit up halter's for some nice wind proof gear to help save me. New pair of mtb shoes, new winter boots, and probably some more gloves....good thing I got paid friday.

Hi Biddy, since I'm kinda low on bling lately what time are ya goin to see Jdog? I could use some new diggs too :D

RC ... :)
 

stb222

Love Drunk
Jerk Squad
Sorry to hear about your troubles. Would you have classified this as a bad ride? I am always curious about this because my rides have to be pretty bad to classify them as such...

As for winter gear, I highly recommend the gore stuff and anything with windstopper, it is a requirement for me on the road below 30. Craft baselayers are no joke.
 

ellbiddy

Active Member
I wouldn't call it a "bad ride" just a painful ride. Bad would have been me getting two flats and jogging home the remaining 7 miles in the cold. The thing that really let me down was my feet. I had wool socks and such it just was the wind. My vented MTB shoes just don't cut it when the winds is that cold :p. I also need a glove that has a fleece lining AND windproofing on the thumb, those giordana lobster gloves are awesome for the fun trail rides3 but out on the road the wind rips through the fleece lining on the thumb and they went numb. It's usually not a problem, just in the super duper cold/wind it kills.

The removable core/sealant idea is not a bad idea. I remember researching it when I kept getting thorn flats and you can snip off the end of the presta core unscrew that little bolt the whole way and slime it up. Something like http://nosin.blogspot.com/2006/02/how-to-slime-presta-tube.html .

Edit: I'm probably going to head over later this afternoon RC, I'll take some pictures for ya so you can pretend ;)
 
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ArmyOfNone

Well-Known Member
For reference: I was out for about an hour and a half at six mile. It was 23 when I got rolling.

I was wearing:
Giordana winter jacket
Under Armour Cold Gear Long Sleeve
Craft Wind Front base layer
SS Jersey (for the pockets)
Bib Shorts
Knee Warmers
Leg Warmers
Craft Ski Socks
Shimano Winter shoes
Gore Radiator Gloves
Gore Retro Cap
Descente Ear Warmer

Chemical Warmers on feet and hands (these were key)

I was very comfy today. I guess I could have gone with one less layer up top. I sweat through everything. I also have to praise the shimano winter shoes. I went a bit to slow through the stream crossing and got stuck having to put my feet down. Completely dry feet!
 

stb222

Love Drunk
Jerk Squad
I was gonna say, your core must have been burning up! Those radiator gloves are quickly becoming my favorite winter gloves ever.
 

Wobbegong

Well-Known Member
Chemical Warmers on feet and hands (these were key)

True. I wore Castelli Thermalite socks, then woolie boolies, then my Shimano winter shoes on our last road ride. After 1.5 hours, my feet were numb to the point of feeling absent. The chemical warmer is the ticket.
 

Norm

Mayor McCheese
Team MTBNJ Halter's
Not sure how many times people need to say it: Lake shoes! Another 3 hours today on the road in sub 30 temps with Lake shoes and pink woolie boolies. Totally up to the task, not even an issue.

At this point in my life, I'm done wasting money on stuff that kinda-sorts works. Just drop the coin on Craft, Castelli, Lake, Gore, etc and be done with it. I'm sick of buy now, then buy later, then buy again later.

I'm glad to see Elbiddy finally came around on the Giordana lobsters...
 

BiknBen

Well-Known Member
Not sure how many times people need to say it: Lake shoes!

Too friggin expensive for most of us to justify!!! I'm not saying they are not worth it. There are just many ways to avoid having to spend that much money on a seasonal shoe. If you are going to use them as much as you (Norm) are, then it is justified.

I'm getting close to jumping into these shoes. My favorite booties are starting to fall apart so it is the right time. We'll see what the x-mas season is like for the Tufford family.
 
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Norm

Mayor McCheese
Team MTBNJ Halter's
Too friggin expensive for most of us to justify!!!

I used to agree, but then I started to think about the math of it. By all accounts these things will last you 10 years if you take care of them. That's less than $30 a year. If you're just above casual I think they're worth it.

You can take mine for a test ride if we can work out the logistics of it. I'm a size 11 shoe. I can't be without my shoes for very long though. My Clif bars won't allow it.
 
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