Man, was it cold out this morning. Still is, actually, but was especially so at about 6:30 am when I set out for my morning ride. I was wearing quite a bit too - cycling shorts with knee warmers under a thin pair of sweat pants - and all that under my wet weather biking pants. Thick socks in regular sneakers. Two pair of gloves, because just the one pair wasn't cutting it yesterday. A t-shirt under a sweater, a thin hoodie and an insulated coat over that - today was not the day for my rain shell, it was too cold for that the other day. Under my helmet was a toque and a scarf wrapped high around the back of my neck.
I still wasn't warm. I really needed some sort of a wind breaker, like what I get with the rain shell. On today's ride the wind was extending through the layers I had on my arms and torso, leeching what little heat I had from me. At least the double pair of gloves worked better than just the single. To compensate, I chose to ride at a slower speed, but on hills so I could be working hard enough to stay warm without the wind chill. I didn't bother with listening to my podcasts on this ride because I didn't want to have to stop and take off a glove to change tracks, etc. At least I remembered to change the batteries in my lights though, so I was extra visible.
Overall, the ride wasn't pleasant, but it wasn't horrible either. It was dry and I noted that the ground now has frost in it, something that wasn't there just last week. And as for cold, well it was at minus 6 degrees Celsius. That's cold on a bike, but I have been in worse and fared better. It's just becoming a little clearer to me what sorts of things I am going to need to keep riding in this weather. Like perhaps an insulated biking jacket for starters.
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