Grease Rag WTF Cayla has a blog, The Bicycle Diaries where she posts about her life with a bicycle and other stories from her day to day. Cayla recently wrote about getting ready to commute in the cold winter weather, and I really liked the description and photos of her setup. Thanks for sharing, Cayla!
It is getting a little colder outside. This is the time when it starts to get easier to say something like “screw it, I’m driving today.” But I’m very much trying not to do that. My commute is roughly 20 minutes, which is beyond doable. But some mornings are harder than others. The main issue is just getting all bundled up. Once I have my gear on, it isn’t too hard to get out the door, but that initial decision to put on long underwear or puss out. Today, I did the sensible thing and rode my bike.
So true. I know that once I put on my gear I start to get a little uncomfortable standing around so I pretty much rush out the door to hop on my bike! Riding a bike is more often than not the sensible choice! =]
First layer-long underwear (cuddle duds on the bottom-silk and awesome, REI sweat wicking 94% polyester/6% spandex top) and (very) thin pair of wool socks (should have gone with a slightly thicker pair…10 degrees is cooler than you think)
Next layer-Jeans (could have gone with lined pants, or my carhardts for extra warmth, but I was ok) And an REI (part acrylic, part polyester) riding top, thicker wool socks and bandanna.
Next a fleece neck warmer, leg warmers(I got a pair from Target, which were cheap, but you can also just cut the sleeves off of an old sweater) wool/flannel cycling cap, helmet, goggles, and my jacket/shell (old columbia ski coat. works wonders)
Cayla also shares about goggles, boots and her awesome new helmet over at her blog, The Bicycle Diaries.