The Winter Wool Doldrums.

What is it about February? It's the shortest month of the year, but it feels like the longest. The weather has taken a nasty turn and it looks like my bikes won't get any fresh air any time soon. I did get in a short ride last Saturday, mostly to test out my new winter kit:

I finally bought a team jacket and fleece-lined winter knickers and I will say it helps a lot to have the right clothes for the season. I posted this photo on FB just to show it off and immediately a debate started about the superiority of wool over fleece-lining. It was interesting and I believe it but I...didn't ask? This happens to me a lot, a grown woman. Why do people think I don't know how to dress myself?

Wool is fine if you can stand the itching. I cannot. I do have a really nice wool Road Holland jersey that I can wear over a full-sleeved base layer but I am never, ever going to be able to wear wool base layers. Just never. The only thing I can stand is Smartwool socks and even those are a little itchy for me.

Again, for layering, I cannot say enough good things about Craft base layers. They are warm, very fitted and hold up really well. They are expensive, but you can find some serious deals. This one in white is under $20 right now! Git it!

So, more proof that I'm a summer weather kind of person. I'm super happy with my winter kit (though the knickers are simultaneously too big and too small? I'm sure they'll stretch a bit. The chamois is amazing.) and hopefully it'll do the trick until the glorious death of winter which can't come too soon. Stupid winter.

Ode to the Toe Warmer.

I was having a blah day yesterday. It was a grey, coldish day and I'd managed to convince a friend to go on a mountain bike ride with me even though my motivation was low. I almost never regret a ride, even if I'm miserable at the start.  It was cold enough to need layers and long-fingered gloves, but it wasn't cold-cold.

Still, my toes are always the first to go and I recently bought an 8 pack of chemical toe warmers:

Toasty! 

I used a pair yesterday even though it wasn't that cold and I wasn't going to ride more than an hour. And you know what? I'm glad I did. It was worth wasting a pair so that my toes were warm and happy. Gradually, I was warm and happy too and the rest of my day improved quite a bit.

I'm sure there are plenty of people I know who'd think I'm a total pussy for using toe warmers when it's 45 degrees out, but some of those people wear short-sleeved jerseys when it's 45 degrees out so we're just going to ignore them. And, we're going to happily blow past them on a 95 degree day when everything is fantastic. For me.


Moral of this mostly pointless blog entry: Do what works for you and your toes. Don't worry what other people think.

The Joys of an Urban Ride.

For years I was a mountain biker. JUST a mountain biker. No road bike, no cyclocross bike, no commuter bike. I have ample trails a short ride from my front door and that was enough for me. Why would I ride pavement when there's singletrack? Why would I deal with cranky drivers when there's singletrack? Why would I chose anything else when there's singletrack?

I still mostly feel like that but then winter happens and the trails get wet and stay wet. Around here, you don't ride wet trails. (It's hard on the trails, creates damage and erosion. It's just bad form.) So, I went to spin class even on the weekends when the weather was otherwise pretty nice. Last winter I didn't get to ride my bike on the local trail loop for the better part of two months! That sucks! So this past April I bought a cyclocross bike...and proceeded to ignore it until August. I was unfamiliar with the handling and braking of a road-style bike and it scared the crap out of me. I hated it.

So, I did the next logical thing, I decided to race it. Hahaha. I know. After a few exploratory rides with various patient friends, I competed in 12 races from September-December and now I'm the total boss of that little Fuji. And I love it. So, when the trails are wet we do what I call, "urban 'cross" (though sometimes I still ride my mountain bike.)

If you're not from Richmond, let me tell you - my city is the best for urban 'cross. We have all kinds of cool historical and industrial bits to explore. We have a river, we have tiny islands in the middle of the river, we have a floodwall, we have gravel roads, we have all kinds of crazy cool places you can ride bikes probably some of them not quite legally.

We also have a series of "pirate" trails through the little bits of scrubby brush and trees that most urban areas have. I can't tell you about them because technically they don't exist. These kind of rides are the balm of winter. It's exactly like when you were a kid and your bike represented freedom and exploration. Sometimes I go with friends and sometimes I go alone, but it's always an adventure.

(All pics are from my Instagram account. Pls follow if you like bikes, cats, shoes and/or booze.)

Cold Weather Riding (Is The Worst.)

I will be the first to admit that I rarely qualify for Rule #9. I love the weather everyone else bitches about - the full humid glory of summer. I feel 800% better in the summer.  My joints are happy, I don't have to worry about layers, and it stays light in the evenings so I can do long rides after work. Summer is the best.

Winter can kiss my ass.  I hate riding in the cold - the chapped skin, the runny nose, the layers and layers of sweaty-but-cold clothing. However, I also hate not riding my bike, so it's a necessary evil. I'm usually the person on the group ride who's over-dressed and I rarely regret it. I'd rather be warm, thanks. (I've had people ask me a surprising number of times if I really need that jacket or leg warmers or whatever. Hi, I'm an adult. I've been dressing myself for 35 years. Stop being rude.)

So, like Randy in a Christmas Story, my winter riding preparation is akin to extended deep sea diving. So many layers I can't put my arms down. I will say that a really good jacket is key. My Road Holland Rotterdam jacket (super on sale right now!)  is definitely my favorite bit of winter gear.

I also swear by a Craft base layer, which is something my friend Paula recommended to me. The are expensive but SO worth it. Nothing else even comes close.

My main concern is fingers and toes. I have decent winter gloves, but I'm tempted by this lobster-claw pair of cycling mittens. (Does anyone have a pair?) As for toes, I don't feel like I ride enough in the winter to justify the expense of winter cycling shoes so currently I wear wool socks (SmartWool are great, especially the ski knee-socks) and chemical toe-warmers and toe covers.  As long as my feet are warm, the rest of me generally feels okay.

My toe covers are Pearl Izumi and they suck. I generally really like PI products but the shoe covers I bought are already coming apart at the seams and they don't stay on very well. Suggestions? I'm considering something more cover-y like this:

But... for that price I might as well just invest in winter shoes. Ugh, winter. Such a pain in the ass. What are your winter ride coping mechanisms? (Please don't tell me you loooove riding in the cold because I will shun you.)