Riding through the winter

 

It's getting colder and wetter, but I don't want to stop riding.

I've written a few posts about clothing, normally ending with how poor they were.

So what have I done this year?

Overboots, a new coat and gloves. As you can see, I have worn them for many miles.

The first time I used the overboots with my usual short socks was painful. The zip doesn't have a cover, within a few miles it had started to cut into my ankle. I wore longer socks next time, but when it rained they soaked up the water and my feet got wet. Maybe not as bad as they would have, but it was still a dissapointment, my feet were still warm. Heavy rain and big puddles on Saturday; my feet were warm, but very wet. Not sure how I stop water running in from the top, They are a bit clunky and slippery on smooth surfaces.

dhb overshoes

The coat is waterproof, that's a first. It's not warm, but I don't need that at the moment. I wear layers and have a thicker coat when it's needed. The pocket on the back isn't separated like it would be on a jersey. Which is a shame, it would be better not to have my keys rubbing up against my phone.

dhb coat

My new gloves haven't been tested properly yet. It's not very cold and I have missed a proper soaking. First impressions: they are fairly restrictive, I can't wear them on the road bike and use the drops, the leavers are just a little too hard to reach. With each outing they are becoming more flexible, so maybe that will change. Until then I wear a pair made of neoprene. Not especially warm, but they keep my hands dry. I have discovered a trick; wearing latex gloves under them does improve their heat retaining properties, at the expense of sweaty hands.

D2D gloves

I guess I haven't completely found that winning formula for winter clothing. Really heavy rain and very strong winds on Sunday caused me to cancel the ride. I hadn't quite dried everything I wore on Saturday. One day off, once in a while is okay isn't it?

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Gloves update 19-10-20
The first cold ride of the winter. I was initially disappointed, my fingers started to cool. I tightened the wrist straps and my hands soon warmed up. I had to take a phone call so off came one of them. The conversation was long enough for my hand to become chilled again. As I slipped on the glove I could feel the retained heat. Within a minute my hand was toasty again.