tripoet. here are several, mostly just little small tips i have learned - i live is wis and ride till they salt the roads all to hell . . . . . .

1. a neck gaiter. the best 10 bucks you will ever spend. you lose tons of heat from the neck and face - using a big bunching neck gaiter will change te cold experience more than you will believe. even in the tension and 'tighness ' you unconciously carry alone - bracing from the blast - this thing will be amazing.

2. your head. if it is really cold you need to rethink this if you want to be comfy. persoanlly i just forget the helmet, and do not fall on my head. hats are better - and if it really cold i'll use a cloumbia job i have that loks like a elmer fudd type deal. all under helmet skullcaps suck, IMHO and are useless in the temps where you actually need them. if this freaks you out a new-school snowboarding/skiing helmet is the way to go - a little bonus here is that you can use ski/snowboard goggles too. these look really bad but work really good !!! go figure - maybe this is why skiiers won't even go outside on the spoes without them - skiing and cold biking are quite similar in regards to wind . . . . . . .

3. here is a llittle deal on the feet i wrote for another guy recently . . . . . . . . ."1. vasoline. smear some on your toes, in a big ole gob. the function here is a vapor barrier - almost all the heat loss from your feeties is in the form of water vapour - a bit-o-vaseline will start to stop this, is almost free, and will give you say 5-10 degrees of comfort.

2. steal some tiny/thin plastic bags from subway, or the produce section at the grocery store. these are even better vapour barriers. slide your foot into the bag with the bag over the sock, but inside the shoe. rip off the excess. you will be amazed. easily worth 10-15 degrees of warmth.

3. go to wal-mart and buy a pair of huge cheap hunting socks. slit the elastic up top, and cut a hole for your cleats. pull them on over your shoes like a bootie. if you want you cvan be famcy and lay some black duct tape as a windblock on the front. if it realy cold, or you have big feet slide the aforementioned plastic bag over the shoe before the sock. all told, vaseline, bags, and socks you have all of 6 dollars invested and they will work as well ( better, actually because you can adjust them and they are easier to put on....), than most booties. fast and warm, cheap and replaceable. all ya need, young fella!"..................................

4. hate to say it but - - - - - powercranks. (!!!!!). it is true, due the lifting motion you legs and feet stay TONS TONS warmer while PC-ing. my feet are NEVER cold when PC-ing.

thassit, dude. have fun. ride outside.

For my head depending on the temperature: A fleece head band or a polypropylene balaclava (30 degrees and colder).

For my feet: Neoprene booties that go on over my shoes.

Hands: Lobster claw mittens with glove liners under them (I have a real problem with cold hands). If it is really cold I use those little hand warmer packets to keep my hands warm.

Wind front tights, I like to keep certain parts of my anatomy toasty warm.

Any normal windproof, breathable jacket over either a long sleeve jersey or a fleece shirt (depending how cold it is).

If you dress properly you can ride comfortably in temperatures down to about 10 degrees. The coldest temp I ever road in was -5 degrees but that was when I was young and insane. Now I'm older and wiser and don't go out if it is below 25.

Don't forget the hot cream! Body Glide Heat FX and Cramer Atomic Balm are my favorite.

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Tom Demerly
The Tri Shop.com

11/11/03 Clayton NY. We got the skating rink. Bikes on ice !!!!! Get out your studed tires elbow and knee pads. It is time to oval race. Don't you love the cold weather and Running in the dark. Lets make the best of it.
Dirtball

When I wake up in the AM here in MN it will be about 8 deg. f. and beside all of the above I need mittens and toe warmers, the kind you shake up and heat your feet. Easy to get a couple of hours that way. I hate when the tears in your eyes freeze your eyelids and you have to melt the ice by closing your eyes for a few seconds--then you know it's cold.

>2. your head. if it is really cold you need to rethink this if you
>want to be comfy. persoanlly i just forget the helmet, and do
>not fall on my head

I disagree here. One of my goals on every ride is to not fall on my head, and yet I've done so twice so far, hard enough to crack my helmet each time. A fleece/thinsulate headband under the helmet works fine for me.

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This message pre-salted for your convenience.

I agree, emphatically.

After 10+ years of mountain biking, I have found that through thick and thin, my head is by far my most reliable landing point. My back is a close second. (Maybe I should rethink my technique of dismounting over the handlebars...)

We never plan to crash, but...

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