ok now that I have the attention of those obsessed with winter shoes....
I did a 4 hour road ride last Saturday in Harriman State Park. If you can remember, it was quite cold and very windy. Probably not a good choice on my part to post a ride, but it was a make up from the weekend before, and I figured if anyone was that into going, I would lead.
It ended up to be more of an adventure than imagined, as the wind was so strong and gusty that keeping it upright was work in itself. You really had to pay attention, and because of that, most of us didn't notice the cold. We also climbed a closed road as an out and back, only to have it turn into 1 inch of snow pack and black ice patches. That wasn't too bad going uphill, although Art managed to fall once. The view on the top was awesome, but totally unappreciated as it was too windy to stand on the top of a mountain and enjoy the scenery. Going down was sketchy. At first, I started walking some icy parts, but we're mountain bikers, right? So forget that. I never rode a road bike downhill in snow before. Sorta cool.
Now, normally I have problems keeping my feet and hands warm. This time I dressed extra warm, as there would be a bit of climbing, and I wasn't sure if there would be waiting. My hands and feet ended up being ok. I think the key is to keep your core warm and the extremedies are less likely to shut down. You actually can wear too much and get too sweaty, so I like to wear something super wicking on the bottom.
Anyway, riding with your friends makes it a whole lot more fun and much easier to get through a long effort. So although I think winter shoes are great, the best investment for me is riding with my buddies.
Just for the record, I wore:
wool socks, windtec booties, old pearl amphib gloves, windfront tights (no fleece), windtec jacket over thin wool turtleneck over silk weght undershirt, thin fleece hat and No Winter Shoes .
I did a 4 hour road ride last Saturday in Harriman State Park. If you can remember, it was quite cold and very windy. Probably not a good choice on my part to post a ride, but it was a make up from the weekend before, and I figured if anyone was that into going, I would lead.
It ended up to be more of an adventure than imagined, as the wind was so strong and gusty that keeping it upright was work in itself. You really had to pay attention, and because of that, most of us didn't notice the cold. We also climbed a closed road as an out and back, only to have it turn into 1 inch of snow pack and black ice patches. That wasn't too bad going uphill, although Art managed to fall once. The view on the top was awesome, but totally unappreciated as it was too windy to stand on the top of a mountain and enjoy the scenery. Going down was sketchy. At first, I started walking some icy parts, but we're mountain bikers, right? So forget that. I never rode a road bike downhill in snow before. Sorta cool.
Now, normally I have problems keeping my feet and hands warm. This time I dressed extra warm, as there would be a bit of climbing, and I wasn't sure if there would be waiting. My hands and feet ended up being ok. I think the key is to keep your core warm and the extremedies are less likely to shut down. You actually can wear too much and get too sweaty, so I like to wear something super wicking on the bottom.
Anyway, riding with your friends makes it a whole lot more fun and much easier to get through a long effort. So although I think winter shoes are great, the best investment for me is riding with my buddies.
Just for the record, I wore:
wool socks, windtec booties, old pearl amphib gloves, windfront tights (no fleece), windtec jacket over thin wool turtleneck over silk weght undershirt, thin fleece hat and No Winter Shoes .
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