Cyclocross!

You guys know the drill by now. 40 degrees out, I'm going with tights, shirtsleeve jersey, thermal jacket and thin thermal gloves. Days like today make it easy to dress, cold, clear, stable weather, easy riding. For those who get cold feet easily some toe covers would be good today too, especially if your commute has a headwind.

As a side note, if you haven't seen a cyclocross race I highly recommend it. Family friendly, short courses and races make for interesting spectating, and usually they happen in a local city park so they are within biking distance for many.

Riding in Rain

Today is a very difficult day to dress for. The forecast was calling for scattered thunderstorms throughout the day going into this evening. It wasn't raining when I left but the roads were still plenty wet. I decided to wear my rain suit but I knew that it would be too warm for that. I ended up taking off the jacket about 15min into the ride and opening up all the vents on my rain pants.

In the end the best gear choice was probably choosing to ride a bike with full fenders. Even though it may not be raining if the road is wet you can still get a fair amount of spray up your back and across your feet.

A Lesson on Layering & Venting

Yesterday I road to work and wore basically the same outfit as my last post. Big mistake! When I got up at 9am it said it was 45 degrees but by the time I left the house at about 10:45 it was much warmer. This brings me to lesson #1 (Always check the weather again right before you leave.) As soon as I stepped outside I could tell I was over dressed, but it was too late to change. However I was able to keep it under control because I had layered well so I was able to vent the heat well.

I took off my hat and gloves and crammed them in my jersey pockets. Unzipped my jacket all the way, and unzipped the bottoms of my tights and rolled them up to my knees. I was still warm but I was able to keep it under control so I wasn't dripping sweat by the time I got to work. Here is a picture of the final result.

Pretty good combination. Warm but not much sweating and when I zipped down a bit it ventilated just enough. We'll see what tomorrow brings.

Welcome Back!

Welcome back to winter cycling Milwaukee!

I'm going to try a new format this year. I'm going to post the temp for the morning and my prediction of what to wear and the and then how it worked out. So this morning it's 42 degrees and I'm going with tights, jersey under, thermal jacket and thin thermal gloves with tall smartwool socks and an isolated cycling cap with ear-flaps. Here's a pick too!

Wish me luck!