Why Am I So Warm?

When I read about what other people wear for cold weather riding, they always seem to be much more heavily dressed than I am. This morning it was -8C on my ride in. I was running late and did not layer up properly and wore what I consider the minimum amount of clothing for such weather. I found that I was pleasantly cool but not cold the whole way in. The thing is, I wasn't wearing that much really:

Body: 1) Cheap old MEC Bike Shorts under 2) MEC Cold Weather pants (neoprene fronts, Lycra backs), 3) a light wicking T-shirt under 4) a scarf to plug the neck hole of 5) an O2 Rainwear cycling jacket with pit zips wide open.

Head: Lightweight balaclava (pulled under chin, face exposed), MX goggles, helmet

Hands: Light Gloves (best used above -10C)

Feet: Regular cotton socks (tsk, tsk) under Exustar E-SM450 Cold Weather Cycling Shoes (not sure if these are available any more).

Do As I Say Not As I Do Disclaimer: I would strongly recommend wearing more stuff than this just for safety. You can remove layers when you're too hot, but you can't add layers you didn't bring in the first place if you are cold. This outfit was perfect because I was able to keep moving. If I had had to stop for any reason along the way or crashed or something, I would have become very cold very fast.

So anyway, I've been thinking about the differences I see between how much stuff I wear compared to others and have four possible reasons for how little I wear:

1) Noggin/Eyes Covered: Once your head is covered, staying warm is simply quite easy. Or maybe humans lose a whole ton of heat from their eyes, which my goggles retain for me. Anyone? Anyone?

2) Blubber: At 5'11" and about 210 pounds, I carry a built in insulating layer.

3) Distance: My winter commute is only 7km (4.3 miles) one way. If I rode much further most of me would be fine, but I know that my feet and hands could begin to suffer past that distance in these clothes.

4) Lateness: I am almost always late. That means riding hard, which means loads of heat generation. If I tried a leisurely commute in this outfit, I would very likely feel chilled.

Any other theories or guesses or insults? Bring 'em on! I like it.

R A N T W I C K

Spoiled

Despite a pretty dramatic start, the winter so far has been very nice for riding. This morning was the coldest ride in so far this winter (I think) at -14C. The thing is, -14 is great. Anything below -10 is fine with me. Getting a little more below freezing really makes everything less messy and wet, and I'll happily trade colder for dryer any day.

For me, -14 is cold enough that I consider covering my cheeks mouth and nose with my balaclava, but don't do it. My goggles and covering my head and ears remains enough. I went sliding (sledding, tobogganing, whatever) with the young Rantwicks yesterday and it was fun. I left my more serious gloves in the car however, and Mrs. Rantwick drove off with them this morning. My lighter (and brighter) gloves aren't great in truly cold weather. My fingers did hurt at first, but -14 is warm enough that if I make a conscious effort to ride hard it will take care of fingers and toes, which it did today.

So, thus far I have been spoiled this winter. If every winter ride could be done at -14 under clear skies, I would be a very happy winter bike commuter. Sadly, the "normals" for London Ontario in mid January are closer to -4 or so. I hope the abnormally cold weather holds up... it is way nicer to ride in. Who knows, maybe I could break my record of -23! That would be cool.

I sometimes wonder if other winter cyclists in London like it colder too. It doesn't seem that way because I see fewer riders out there with me. Maybe I'm just weird because I was born and raised in Thunder Bay and Kenora, where normals are quite a but lower.

How About You? What Kind of Cold Suits You Best?

R A N T W I C K