Do clothes make the cyclist?

Yesterday\’s post was for, as you might say, warm-weather gear. Now let\’s look at Part II: some things to help keep you warm when the mercury drops.

First, a cycling jacket. The kind I have has built-in magnets around the armholes and collar. That lets me remove the sleeves if I start to get too warm, but still would feel chilly if I took off the jacket entirely.

I replaced my original cycling jacket a year or two ago. Not a week after I bought my first one, I skidded while in a turn one wet morning. And I wasn\’t even going fast at all! The left sleeve got a tear in it, and the dirt got ground into the fabric. I was on my way to work; and couldn\’t wash the jacket until after I got home at the end of the day.

I never did get the dirt stain washed out. I repaired the tear with awning tape, but the tear gradually enlarged. When I bought my second jacket, I discarded the sleeves from the old jacket. Now I have a \”vest\” to wear under the new jacket when one jacket isn\’t warm enough.

Sometimes it\’s not really cool enough for a jacket, but still too chilly for short sleeves. Arm warmers come in handy then. I sometimes wear them under the jacket\’s sleeves because my arms are sensitive to cold.

Leg warmers are good to have when it starts to get chilly. My legs seem to be less cold-sensitive than the rest of me, but they say you should take care to keep your knees warm.

Heads Up!

I find a skull cap (or helmet liner) to be vital once the temperature starts to fall below 60. That\’s especially true if it\’s windy. I\’m miserable when my head gets cold.

Another misery of riding when in cold weather is, as you might guess, cold feet. I have some cashmere socks that I\’ll wear over regular socks in cold weather, but my feet still get cold. Maybe some thermal socks like these would do the trick?

Let\’s also keep our hands warm. I believe I mentioned gloves yesterday, but there\’s no harm in repeating it. About 2010 I developed symptoms of  Raynaud\’s. It\’s a nuisance. So, unfortunately, are full-fingered gloves on a long ride. It\’s harder to pull out a bite to eat because of the loss of fingertip sensitivity.

Jacket, arm warmers, leg warmers, skull cap, thermal socks, gloves. Do clothes make the cyclist? I guess so. These items make riding possible on a cold day!