The other day the temperature was about 30 degrees with a wind chill in the single digits. Since my son had the car I had no option but to bicycle the seven miles to work.I know there is some high tech gear for cold weather riding but I am just the mail room guy and can't afford the good stuff.
I had already bought some gloves for my hands since it had been getting colder day by day. In this cold, the knit gloves would not be nearly enough so I tied some grocery bags over my hands to break the wind. I put on a sweatshirt over my long sleeved undershirt and a windbreaker over that. I put on a pair of nylon shell pants over my sweat pants.
I thought with these precautions I would be able to face the challenge of the cold. After putting plastic bags over my gloves I found that I couldn't snap on my helmet and had to take the gloves off, put my helmet on and then start over with the gloves and bags.
I know these measures helped but not so much as I had hoped. My mouth, nose, and throat hurt from the cold. When I arrived at work my fingers were stinging and my feet were in pain from the cold. I ran cold water in the sink and put my numb hands in; my hands were so cold that the water felt like it was burning. It took about a half hour to change into my work clothes.
The next day was even colder. This time I found some large gloves and slipped them on over my knit gloves then put the plastic grocery bags over them. I put on two pairs of socks and then tied grocery bags over my shoes. I put on two pairs of sweats and nylon pants over them. I added a jacket over the windbreaker and a ski cap under my helmet. Last I wrapped a scarf around my nose, mouth, and throat.
Bundled up I was ready for anything. The cold was still bitter and my eyes watered badly. With two gloves and grocery bags over my hands, I couldn't push my glasses back up my nose and they kept slipping lower and lower until I had to stop, take off the bags, and gloves to push them back in place then reassemble the gloves and bags on my hands. That was the only real problem I had, the layers worked.
It took a lot longer to get ready but it was worth it I was much more comfortable even if all those shopping bags made me look homeless.
I had already bought some gloves for my hands since it had been getting colder day by day. In this cold, the knit gloves would not be nearly enough so I tied some grocery bags over my hands to break the wind. I put on a sweatshirt over my long sleeved undershirt and a windbreaker over that. I put on a pair of nylon shell pants over my sweat pants.
I thought with these precautions I would be able to face the challenge of the cold. After putting plastic bags over my gloves I found that I couldn't snap on my helmet and had to take the gloves off, put my helmet on and then start over with the gloves and bags.
I know these measures helped but not so much as I had hoped. My mouth, nose, and throat hurt from the cold. When I arrived at work my fingers were stinging and my feet were in pain from the cold. I ran cold water in the sink and put my numb hands in; my hands were so cold that the water felt like it was burning. It took about a half hour to change into my work clothes.
The next day was even colder. This time I found some large gloves and slipped them on over my knit gloves then put the plastic grocery bags over them. I put on two pairs of socks and then tied grocery bags over my shoes. I put on two pairs of sweats and nylon pants over them. I added a jacket over the windbreaker and a ski cap under my helmet. Last I wrapped a scarf around my nose, mouth, and throat.
Bundled up I was ready for anything. The cold was still bitter and my eyes watered badly. With two gloves and grocery bags over my hands, I couldn't push my glasses back up my nose and they kept slipping lower and lower until I had to stop, take off the bags, and gloves to push them back in place then reassemble the gloves and bags on my hands. That was the only real problem I had, the layers worked.
It took a lot longer to get ready but it was worth it I was much more comfortable even if all those shopping bags made me look homeless.
