Cold Weather Cycling

NotAResolution

I try to cycle commute once a week if the roads are safe and it's not raining/snowing, etc. I have several layering options so cold temps where I live isn't a problem. Today was a little colder than normal and I observed some interesting things in myself as I rode in to work. The temps for my ride were in the teens, not the coldest, but cold. When I started out riding, everything was cold. I was in my warm car (took it to the shop) so I hadn't generated any body heat yet and my nose wasn't running at all.

I guess I should quickly state my attire: Thick wool socks overlapped by long tight leggings, long sleeve Nike (like under armor), cycling bib shorts, long sleeve cycling shirt, Gore jacket, thick gloves with finger covers, regular cycling shoes with cold weather booties. I was dressed warm! (+Helmet, lights, eye protection)

The first body part that got really cold was the space between my beard and my glasses. That part stayed cold until my nose started running. I think the nose running thing is the way your body warms your face... it worked! Next, my thumbs started to get cold. They weren't protected by the wind breaker overlap on my gloves and they got cold. My right thumb was especially cold, much more so than left thumb.

Starting out I thought I should go slow so the wind wouldn't make me too cold. The longer I thought about it the more I realized I need to go faster, to push harder and not slow down. The clothes I was wearing kept heat in, if I didn't generate heat, I wouldn't get warm. If I generated enough heat, my body would send it to my extremities to help cool off my core. So I rode harder and stood up to pump up all the hills.

Meanwhile, my right thumb was getting colder. I figured it was worth trying something different. I unzipped my right jacket pocket and rode for a mile or so with my hand tucked in there. That did the trick!

Between the harder riding and the wind break, my thumb was all better and I was warm all over.

Towards the end of my 7 mile ride, I noticed my left hand was starting to sweat and was much warmer than my right hand. As I am not a doctor or scientist*, so I can't say why there was a difference in the warmth of the two hands, but it was noticeable.

It was a cool ride and I enjoyed learning about my body as I did it. * Yeah, not a MD, PHD.