I cycle all year round. When it rains as it can at any time of the year. A coat gives reasonable protection, still not as good as the advertising gave hope of. When it's cold though. Fingers and toes suffer. I have tried various gloves and shoes. Extra layers don't seem to help either. There are lots of clothes sold under the premise that they will keep you warm and dry. I haven't found anything that can keep my fingers and toes warm. I have even resorted to shoes one size too big so I can wear two pairs of socks. One of which were hiking socks. Designed, they said, to keep feet warm in extreme conditions. It was the same with gloves. An extra layer of base layer gloves, under my "winter" cycling gloves. After a short time, cold fingers and toes.
I mentioned rain earlier. I have had cycling coats that have been anything but rain resistant, never mind waterproof. A days cycling in the rain on the first leg of a London to Paris ride ended with me removing soaked money and passport from a jacket pocket. Not what I expected from a waterproof coat. I thought maybe it was the cost that was the difference. But I'm not so sure. The picture in this post is Matt's balaclava. I think he bought it from Millets. It keeps him warm even in the snow. I have a cycling specific hat. I'm sure it cost more than Matt's solution. It does work so I'm not complaining. But it's the cost compared to cheaper alternatives that annoys me. It seems that any hobby or interest specific accessories always have an extra cost.
Any suggestions about ways to keep my fingers and toes warm, gratefully received.
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