A few years ago, a friend organized a tour of the C&O Canal Tow Path (in Maryland and Washington DC), for the weekend of November 14-15. When I asked her why she was doing a bicycle tour so late in the year, she replied, "Because the leaves are down, and the views of the Potomac are so much better. "

That answer opened my eyes to an under appreciated benefit of bicycling from the late fall through the early spring, when most recreational riders seem to have gone indoors to their boring wind trainers and overheating spinning classes. (Oh, are my biases showing?) I've always thought that, if you dressed your bicycle and your body correctly, you could keep riding through the winter.

A starting point for riding through the winter has always been the charts published in various cycling magazines showing samples of clothing you should be wearing for each 10-degree drop in temperature (including the wind chill) from 70 degrees F. Those charts are just that - starting points. To state the obvious, everybody's body reacts to heat (or cold) differently. I have one friend who doesn't like to cycle when it's above 75 - he finds it too hot. But he routinely shows up for club rides in 45-degree December in NYC dressed in shorts. (He does, at least, wear a long-sleeve shirt and gloves.)

Years ago, I drew up my Cold Weather Cycling Clothing Chart, listing clothes to wear, by 10-degree temperature decrements. And I have kept on updating the chart over the years, as technology improved, new types of clothes and equipment were invented, and my old reliables wore out. Personally, I have no trouble keeping my trunk, arms, and legs warm, but hands and feet are problematic. So, as an example of how a Clothing-Temperature might work, consider my feet:

I'm good in regular cycling shoes down to about 50 degrees. Between 40 and 50 I can take a low-tech approach: inserting a plastic baggie (the kind with the fold-over closing, not the zip closing) around my toes is adequate. (The baggie stops wind on the toes, but lets air in and out at the heel and ankle.) Below 40, my chart diverges into two: one for long, training rides, the other for shorter rides like my commute (which is now under 10 miles). I'm not a big fan of neoprene foot warmers, but YMMV. Same principle as the plastic baggies but more expensive and more hassle as far as I'm concerned.

For real rides, I bought a pair of NorthWave winter bicycling shoes, which I found out about in discussions on the IceBike (http://www.icebike.org) list. The shoes have a high collar (to keep out muck), no mesh, and more insulation than regular shoes. On a ride longer than 20 miles or colder than 30 degrees, I usually add chemically activated heating pads, available in most sporting goods store. I use the "toe" (not "foot") warmers, which are smaller. Contrary to instructions, I insert them on top of my foot, not on the ball of the foot, where I can feel them.

When it gets really cold (in DC, that's below 20), or on my commuting rides or errands where I won't build up much momentum, I need to go to the next step. I actually bought a pair of fur-lined boots in a thrift store. Couple these with old-fashioned rat-trap pedals and Power Grips and you could fit Mukluks onto your pedals. Add the chemical toe warmers and my feet really do stay toasty. I have seriously been considering Hotronic foot warmers (http://www.hotronic.com; highly recommended on Icebike), but haven't gone that far yet. (When I encounter people that are incredulous that I'm bicycling in 20 degree weather I can always point to the Icebike site and say, "And you think I'm obsessive! Take a look at these guys!)

At any rate, with feet toasty warm and hands all cozy (the subject of another message), I'm ready to enjoy winter cycling: views that you can't get in summer; riding places that in summer are mobbed are now are invitingly uncrowded; coming in from a ride and gathering in front of a blazing fireplace (sorry for the cliche, but true); keeping in shape over the winter; being the only person who got to the ice skating rink on a bicycle; the list could go on. And I will go on bicycling through the winter as long as I can - especially now that I've got studded tires for one of the bikes!

UMCA Year-Rounder Century Challenge

Preparing for and riding centuries