Winter Communting

Hi all! Hope your having an excellent holiday period and wishing you the best of luck for 2013!

I just wanted to spend a little time on winter commuting.

The high street proved a little challenging then usual that morning...

Here in the Budapest the weather so far hasn’t been too bad, one really cold week along with a few dustings of snow. We’re lucky here, although the temperatures drop a lot lower than the UK, because of Hungary’s landlocked position means there is a lot less moisture in the air and as a result a lot less frost and ice. So apart from snow, cycling here in the winter is a lot less hazardous (although you do have to take into account the drivers of Budapest!)

Beautiful Budapest looking suitably wintery

I spend around 1hr 15mins commuting each day so experiencing the daily weather conditions first hand. As a result I have developed a strategy for dressing that can deal not only with the temperatures on really cold days but also and importantly stop me from overheating! 

So what you can see above is a photo of all the kit I wear on a really cold commute.

If we go from left to right and top to bottom you can see:

Cycling shorts - a must for any cyclist and made from skin tight synthetic with padding just where you need it!

very cool example of cycle shoe covers

Cycle shoe covers - This is the first winter I have used covers, they have been a revelation! For some reason I suffer a lot from the cold with both my hands (more of which later) and feet. I use an old pair of mountain bike “clippy” shoes to cycle which have a lot of ventilation, so unfortunately when temperatures drop I really feel it!. Most shoe covers are wind and waterproof (or at least shower proof) and are put on before the shoes and stretched over the top then secured underneath (mine have to Velcro tags which fit together).

Neck warmer (also known as a Buff) - I have acquired loads of these over the years. Neck warmers are a simple yet great innovation, can be used as a hat, bandana, sweat band etc or simply round the neck and cover the lower face. It’s because of this that having a few to use is important, as you can imagine they can get a mangy after a few days use. As you can see the one above is nice and bright and is half fleece which in really cold weather makes a big difference. A good buy although rather expensive would be a Merino wool version (more of which below).

Merino wool socks - Really great innovation in recent years, a wool which is anti-bacterial, warm and importantly doesn’t have that scratchy, itchy feel of traditional wool. These Icebreaker ones also have a really good fit too.

Arm warmers – Again something new this year and extremely versatile. During the autumn i was wearing these on my arms along which just a cycling shirt. As the weather go colder they went back in the draw but one day I had a brain wave and popped them on my lower legs. The work very well and keep me toastie. A note on guns, the arms warmers have an elasticated end the sits on the top of your bicep. Now im skinny, as such (size S!!!!) warmers do fall down from time to time. A good excuse then to do a little work on your guns!

Trousers -  I have been use these travel trousers for years and years full of holes, which I have attempted to fix. Yet synthetic, they dry quickly and are quite windproof with loads of pockets I just roll up the legs and go.

Cycling gloves -  This is a real minefield! Each person’s hands differ hugely, as do the gloves offered by different companies. I’ve had some real disasters with gloves in the past. Buying possibly “Bargain” options and then paying twice as much again to get some gloves that do the job properly. As mentioned before this is something really important for me as I suffer a LOT with my hands in the cold.  Its hard to define the pain experienced cycling with cold hands as your body try’s to push to warm back to your fingertips.

Anyway my current gloves work very well having good padding for longer rides, are waterproof (although in practice not for a sustained period) and are highly windproof.  A few nice extra features the reflective strips on the backs of the hands and really handy “grab” tags on the wrist end of the gloves which mean you can manage either to put on the glove using the other gloved hand or which I do on many occasions, with my teeth!

When buying gloves important things to bear in mind are: The fit, is there enough room to move fingers properly and grab things without being too bulky? (bear in mind gloves that are too tight will be just as painful in cold weather as too loose) Are they sufficiently windproof? (you will find out pretty quickly!) Are they waterproof (particularly relevant for the UK)? For those like me who suffer a great deal it’s a good idea to look for gloves where you can fit thinner liner gloves inside. On the photo there are some old luminous running gloves but I also have some silk ones which for the weight (extremely thin and light) are very warm and breathable.

Running tights -  Once again Very handy in cold weather. Skin-tight, synthetic leggings make a real difference. Why running tights? Well I’m adding to my kit over time and not a millionaire so combined with the cycling shorts they do the same job as specific tights and also give me the flexibility of using them for other activities too!

Hat – We leak a lot of heat from our heads. To prevent this during the winter you have a few different options: if wearing a helmet you can get hold of “skull caps” often very thin and windproof. There are helmet covers, fabric that stretches over top of specific helmets covering vents. I just use a running hat, thin and relatively windproof, again it gives me greater flexibility and does the job well.

Lifa/polypropylene top - This classic is produced by Helly Hansen, but there are others out there. A trusted part of any outdoor enthusiast wardrobe, the main benefits are that while keeping you warm the top can transfer a great deal of moisture (or if you’re a boy, sweat!) away from the body, so excellent for any high intensity activity in colder temperatures.

 One of the other real advantages is the fit, as goldilocks said it’s just right, not super tight like contemporary “compression tops” yet not baggy either. The fabric has a few negatives, synthetic (effectively plastic, it can be put in the recycle bin when finished with!) after one or two (a single use if you are working really hard) it can get very smelly! Secondly these tops aren’t that cheap, especially when you can easily find cheaper (albeit generally vastly inferior) products in any shopping centre. Rest assured though these tops will take a huge amount of wear and tear (and the required washing!) while generally maintaining fit and performance.

example of pit zips

Windproof fleece – I wear this only for the really cold days, Quite a heavy fleece, purchased before soft-shells flooded the market. Importantly it is made from windproof fabric (in this case Gore Windstopper), so protecting the upper body from wind chill. One of the really useful aspects of the jacket is the so-called “pit zips” large vents that can be found on the inside of the arms and can be opened/closed in order to regulate body temperature. 

Any other business… Other things that have proved really handy include: Getting anything prepared the evening before! You can waste a lot of time each morning, searching for half a pair of gloves or cycling shorts! Keeping an eye on daily/weekly weather forecasts, this helps a lot when considering what to wear. A thermal sports bottle, this has been a real benefit recently. A double walled sports cap bottle, meaning I can fix some hot juice each morning and quickly warm myself up when I get to work.