Winter Riding - Prepare To Ride Outside In Any Weather

Even in a cold and snowy Canadian winter, riding outside is still an option.  Sometimes, you just need to get some fresh air and enjoy the outdoors.  
 

As the days get shorter and colder, riding outside becomes a bit more challenging but it's still possible.  So, let's get started.

 

 

 

Back  in May, we were watching one of the early spring classic bike races overseas back in the spring and the racers were faced with cool, rainy weather.  One of the race commentators quoted one of the racers off the front, a guy who didn't appear bothered by the cold, wet conditions:   "There is no such thing as bad weather for riding, only bad clothing choices."

 

---

 

 

Fall  Riding In Three Steps 1.   Dress for it     Jacket These are the three jackets you need in your arsenal in order to be prepared to ride in just about anything.  With any of these, make sure you consider visibility and reflective details in order to be seen.     1.    Light Wind Layer           In this category, you should have a both a jacket and a vest.  Look for super light, packable pieces that you can stuff in a pocket and carry with you on those days when weather conditions might be change while you are still out there. Every run and cycling clothing brand makes one of these and we'll all need to pull them out now if we haven't already. 2.   Lightweight membrane jacket.       Look for a jacket that can stand up to actual rain. Waterproof breathable membrane jackets that keep you drier will go a long way to keeping you warmer as well.  Consider a jacket like the Garneau Commit jacket which also has a high degree of stretch.  This allows for layering as well as great freedom of movement without excess bulk. 3.   Softshell Jacket This is a heavier weight jacket with thermal protection and a water resistant coating.  Again, there are lots of players in this category.  Personally, I don't go quite this far:  if it's cold enough out there to warrant this level of protection, I'm probably riding indoors.  But most of you are tougher than me so go find yourself a winter jacket already!  If you are really serious about a jacket just for riding and not a multi-purpose piece, you can spend upwards of $400 to $500 but the Garneau Enerblock jacket be under $170 and will handle just about anything you can handle. Pants And Leggings I'd include knee-warmers and leg-warmers in this category:  basically, cover up and keep your legs insulated from cold and wet.  Look for wind resistant finishes as well as the level of thermal protection that you need.  As temperature changes, I approach this in 3 stages: Stage 1 - End of summer, beginning of fall when, I'll start by wearing knee warmers with my usual shorts or I'll switch to knicker length bike pants.   Stage 2 - When temperatures fall a little further, I'll go to a full leg-warmer.  But when temperatures fall enough that I start to fill chilly in any areas where I'm only wearing one layer of lycra, I move to stage 3. Stage 3 - Full on thermal tights.   In this stage, I usually wear regular bike shorts underneath an unpadded tight but padded full length tights are an option. Socks & Shoe Covers Again, I do this one in a few stages, starting with just adding toewarmers, then moving to full on shoe cover.  As temperatures continue to fall, I move to thermal weight full shoe covers and switch to socks with at least some merino wool.  Gloves For me, one of the most challenging things about cold weather riding is sorting out how to keep my hands warm so I approach this in a few stages as well.   Stage 1 - When temperatures are still above zero (Celsius), it's still easy.  For 10-15C, I normally just add a light liner weight glove underneath an slightly too big or stretched out pair of regular bike gloves.   Stage 2 - When temperatures fall to single digits, I'll add a heavier, light thermal weight glove. And finally, stage 3 - For full on freezing temperatures (or even anything below 5C with with some wind), I go to a full on heavy weight thermal glove with wind and weather protection.  Anything below that, it's full on lobster gloves or staying inside and riding the trainer.  I admit to being a bit of  a baby when it comes to keeping my hands warm.  I'll almost always have heavier gloves or mitts on than just about anyone I ride with.   2.   Prepare Your Bike Lights For Front & Back We are always prepared, even in the summer months, with small front and rear lights on our bikes.  The accepted protocol is to run white lights on the front, red lights on the back. In the summer months when we are riding solely in daylight hours, we'll still mount small but nicely bright little lights on our handlebars and seatpost. It's not uncommon for us to use the rear lights in the summer, especially when riding on busier roads or highways.  These lights aren't for illumination, just to make us more visible. When days get shorter, it starts to get a little darker by the time we finish our rides so we'll start switching our front lights out to something that provides a little more fire power and can add a little spotlight on the road ahead of us. For full-on fall and winter riding where we'll be riding in the dark, lighting options start to get really fun. Lighting has become less expensive, lighter weight and with more rechargeable options. It's easier than ever to put together a simple, effective and inexpensive lighting solution to meet all your riding needs. Change Your Tires If your fork accommodates wider, plumper tires, now is the time to put them on if you haven't already.  A plumper tire and one with a more aggressive tread will handle a little snow, wet and gravel.   Assess The Need For Different Lube. There are two things here to consider:  drive train lubrication and frame protection.  With changing winter conditions, you might want to have both a colder weather and wet weather drive train lubes handy so you always have what you need.   Some lubricants do a great job in a wider range of weather conditions and some of them promise to penetrate deeper and to clean and protect.  You might pay more for a good quality lube but the extra durability should pay off in harsher weather.  And if you are riding any of the Edmonton bike paths, you will have noticed the the City started spraying those roads with a solution with calcium chloride.  This solution helped keep the bikeways clear of snow but it left a wet green-tinted residue that got into the bike's drive train.  The City claims the solution includes a corrosion inhibitor but the safe option would be to try to clean your chain frequently.  The safe pre-ride option is to use a protective lubricant (like Boeshield T-9) before you ride.      And to protect your frame and all the other metal bits on your bike, keeping it clean is always the best suggestion but some protective lubricants can also be used on the frame. Again, Boeshield T-9 will provide a durable, waterproof protection layer on any metal surface, frame included.  For winter riding, it is important to show your bike some love:  clean and protect it as often as needed. 3.   Just Go Out And Ride Already It's just that easy!  It might not be fun every single ride but then we have those days in the summer where on even the nicest sunny day, we're just not feeling it.   Give winter riding a chance and you might find that the winter doesn't feel so long after all.