BIKES

Winter Gear: Just Go, Man

So I made three New Year’s Resolutions: give books another chance (since that’s what I’ve made my living from over the last three decades), do another Dry January, and do more riding in cold weather.

If you know winter, and riding bikes is part of who you are, you know that getting all geared up to ride in the the winter is a royal pain in the ass. Which is why I Zwift. Which BTW is an incredibly good workout. Which is slightly less abominable than riding an Ebike. But, ultimately, which also locks me into an artificial world that….well, more on the Zwift thing in an upcoming post. Let’s just say I promised myself that I’d suck it up and ride outside whenever I could this winter.

Afterall, sometimes winter riding yields this:

So I was pleasantly surprised when the young lady at the bookstore counter gushed that Jody Rosen’s Two Wheels Good devotes a paragraph or two to winter riding and “will make you want to ride your bike.”

Turns out that Rosen is plumb amazed that people ride in the winter. Also turns out that Two Wheels Good is everything about bikes that you probably didn’t want to know or could have Googled yourself, if you’ve been riding bikes for more than a couple of years. I’ll go all retro-grouchy about Two Wheels in yet another upcoming post. Now, on to the point, Pops, and without further ado!

#1 The Head

The head is the smokestack, and although I rarely ride without ending up with a sweaty head, my beloved Carharts hat always keeps the noggin warm (I’ve been tempted to cut some ventilations holes in the top, though). A Buff underneath sometimes helps keep the ears protected, and for coolativity, add one around the neck. Anything warmer than 50 degrees and I’ll just go with a doubled up Buff under the helmet; anything below 20 degrees and I’ll start thinking about going full-on balaclava. But there’s no helmet in the pic, Pops! I refer you to Bikesnob NYC for the definitive answer. Given my history, I probably should’ve been wearing shoulder pads, anyway. Suffice it to say: I take it slow in the winter.

#2 The Torso

The belly is the furnace. Of course layers. Of course breathable fabrics, but sometimes a good old windbreaker. And I’ve found that a cheap cycling vest works as both middle layer or sometimes an outer layer. Here’s a tip: Partially unzipping my middle layer provides a good vent for the build up of heat on my chest. Then, I zip the outer layer up or down for wind protection as needed. The temperature in the above picture was about 20 degrees, and I decided to flip the process cause I’m adaptable like the dog in To Build a Fire. I’m wearing a long sleeve inner layer, a Patagonia Fleece and a black breathable jacket to soak up the sun’s glory.

Sometimes, though, it’s the HiViz Life for me:

#3 The hands

I’m Going to Reveal a Secret: Black Diamond Windweight gloves.  Apparently, you didn’t hear it here first because REI keeps an entire rack of them. I wear them anywhere from 15-20 degrees all the way up to the 50s. So versatile, so fine. A sauna for the fingers. In a distant second place are SSG’s 10 Below, gloves that my wife and I found at a tack shop for riding horses in cold weather. Of course, I’ve accumulated a vast and senseless array of gloves for all occasions and conditions, but for winter riding, I always go back to the Black Diamonds. Their only downside is that they make it hard to give the finger to an asshole motorist.

#4 The legs

I’m Going to Reveal Another Secret: leg warmers. They rule. I know from hard-won experience: like you, I’ve had bouts of IT Band soreness that sometimes crop up mid-ride. I’ve found that not only do leg warmers keep the joints warm (more on that in a bit), they also have miraculously eliminated my IT Band issues on long, cold rides. Listen to me now, believe me later. Lined pants below freezing, tights (the cheap kind from TJ Maxx, but make sure they’re flexy around the ankles) above and into the 50s.

Yes, I know: the cut-off shorts are just a little too cool, but at least the tights cover all my hipster leg tattoos.

#5 The feet

And Now for the Biggest Secret of All: Socks with toes cut out. Recently, Mike Kazimer from Pinkbike suggested that the origin of cold fingers is cold wrists, and he advocates cutting a slot in a wristband and inserting a chemical handwarmer, because the blood travelling to the fingers is so near to the surface of the skin at the wrists. I’m a believer — at least as that theory is applied to cold feet. Blood is cooled at the ankles, then makes for cold tootsies. Forget heavy, expensive winter riding boots, forget toe covers, forget plastic bags, forget shoe covers.

Instead, take a pair of heavy socks and cut off the toes. Pull these over your favorite pair of warm socks. Then place a toe warmer OVER and slightly wrapped around the toes. Guaranteed toe toastiness.

And finally…

#6 The bike

The Only Good Reason for an Ebike or a Fatbike. Not bad for $1800. But the Stache, with big ol’ 2.8 Maxxis Rekons, is, as they say, ALL YOU NEED. I bought the Stache when 29+ bikes were cool, and I’m keeping it even though 29+ (and me) are no longer cool. The original Chupacabras were the best tire ever made, and it’s good to know that Surly still sells the Knard. But then there’s my beloved Rusty Nutz, the Ultimate Up North Ice Road Trucker:  

Dude from Two Wheels Good apparently thinks it’s the most novel thing that people resort to putting studs on their tires (he also writes about bikes as sex toys, and he believes his derailleur sings sweet poetry to him or some weird shit). Anyway, I’m gonna keep reading it, mostly because I wasted $30 bucks, and I need to fill in some beer drinking time. I hope you stay warm out there!

Winter riding from Cousin Dan’s neck of the woods.

FISH

Although it has nothing to do with fish other than the central character is probably now swimming with them, Ben McGrath’s Riverman is a book I find hard to peel from my not-cold, not-dead hands. Kind of an Into the Wild mystery about a guy who was into rivers. I always thought that Chris McCandless might still be alive today had he discovered mountain biking.

Next up: Local Legend Brandon Le