BEST of THE BEST

[naked indian]

Hi,

I live in Florida.

It gets downright chilly here, but NOt super cold.

I will be racing in the Dead of Winter up in Pisgah Forest.

I have concerns regarding the COLD.

What are the best ways to keep warm.

I got my hands covered.

But I am concerned regarding my core and my toes.

Rain or wet conditions may be a factor.

Snow?  Tell me about it, I have NEVER EVER EVEN SEEN IT OR EXPERIENCED IT.

Help me become proficient.

thanks,

Karlos

[daveB]

I live in Vermont, and have rarely seen or experience the SUN.

NO COTTON
dress in layers: base layer (light/silkweight ... midweight as temperature requires)
insulation layer (fleece, heavier capilene, primaloft, wool, down as temperature requires)
shell layer (to deflect wind, snow, and/or rain)

also carry additional pieces to allow adaptation to a different temperature range.

KEEP THINGS DRY!  That means dressing just right, venting as necessary going up/down
Within your body's radiation capacity, wear damp things until they're dry
Pack waterproof.

In your area, the most I can imagine needing is lightweight long underwear, windbreaking layer like Craft tights, rainpants.
The Craft pieces are great:  just a touch warm, windbreaking on the front, allow moisture through.
Its pretty much just basic cross country ski clothing.

Neoprene shoe covers go easily over regular bike shoes, but could get a bit trashed with frequent hike-a-bike.  Around here I don't know anyone who rides seriously through the winter...its SKI season!  ...so its probably best to look for more advanced info in the Winter Forum, though its hard to imagine that you really need it.

Good luck!  (Getting 6" here this afternoon...Yippeeeee!)

[bmike-vt]

shoe covers suck in the snow if you are on / off the bike a bit.
better to get some dedicated winter boots (lakes, maybe?) or go bmx pedals and snow boots.
you will have to figure out how much snow / singletrack / hike a bike you may have.

snow is fun to ride in.


i'm not a fan of synthetics... big fan of wool / wool blends.
i ride most of the winter - from short adventures on the mups to road centuries when i'm in shape for it.
i carry an extra layer or two, depending on the temp swing, and just added a down vest for when i stop / need to get off the bike.
down can be tricky - so it stays stowed and dry.

venting is key. you'll be a swamp under any sort of shell - so properly adjusting as you go is important. find a temp range that you can tolerate - and then adjust small pieces of gear to fine tune. usually this means hat and zip / unzip a shell jacket.

if it is dry and not windy i'll just layer up the wool.
if it is wet i'll wear a shell over my base layers.
if it is windy i'll wear a shell or windproof layer.

i ride pretty warm - so when it is in the high 20s so long as i can cut the wind i usually can make a thick wool base layer and wool SS jersey work. below that i add in a thin woolie layer. riding this past week in the 30s was balmy...!

mike 'stuck in upstate ny to sit out the snowstorm but wish i was home in vt!'

[protoceratops]

Some good advice uplist...+1 on the wool, and waterproof boots with flat pedals gets a vote as well.  Did 40+ road miles yesterday in 35F with light wind and was toasty.  Wool is the best. 

Mountain lesson #0: Snow is less trouble than cold rain.  Until it melts and seeps in.  Then it's STILL less trouble than cold rain.  Riding in snow is usually either pretty easy (light snow) or very hard, so you hike. 

Mountain lesson #1: Always carry a rain jacket.  Always.  Wet and cold is a whole lot worse than dry and cold. 

Mountain lesson #2:  Adjust so your inner layer won't get sweat-soaked.  Lots of light layers.  Some great advice uplist.

Mountain lesson #3: Bare skin is going to hurt if it gets seriously cold.  Ski masks are pretty good, but I am uncharacteristically picky when it comes to the tradeoff between coverage and seeing/breathing/venting.  Lots of folks ride with faces bare, so YMMV.  I have a full beard too, so go figure...

Mountain lesson #4: Fingers and toes can get pretty cold without really noticing it happening.  I have a pair of Pearl Izumi (Cyclone?) gloves that defy belief.  So thin, and sooooo warm.  Super thin wool running socks and thick wool hiking socks under "waterproof" Winter hiking boots are the latest version of "a work in progress". 

Mountain lesson #5: You should be chilly at the start line, but not freezing.  Once you get rolling, you will warm up quite a bit, but it may take a little while.   Don't overdress at the start, and don't add clothing - unless the weather changes appreciably - until you have gotten good and warmed up.  Unzip or remove a layer right away if you start to sweat.  After the inital 30-45 minutes or so, add before you get really cold and subtract before you sweat yourself soaking wet.  See "wet and cold is a whole lot worse than dry and cold".

Mountain lesson #6: Eat!  You are burning calories at a terrific rate in the cold, so eat!  You will get very cold very quickly if you bonk, and there aren't enough clothes to fix it.

Mountain lesson #7: Drink!  You may not feel thirsty, but you will get dehydrated just the same.  And cold.

After the race, you will wonder why more folks don't ride in the Winter!

Tell us all about the race, Indian?

[naked indian]

Thanks for the advice, I am taking notes.


Its the Pisgah 36.

http://www.pisgahproductions.com/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=39&Itemid=128

http://www.parismountaindownhill.com/images/PisgahPro1/pisgah36-number1.gif

Should be HEllacious!

[protoceratops]

Looks awesome.  It all seems to boil down to this:

2008: 11 teams started, 2 finishers

2009: 29 starters, 5 finishers

Pretty good race credentials!

[Majcolo]

Good luck, NI.

[naked indian]

Appreciate the Well wishes.  Were gonna go and race to win.  As long as I can  manage the cold I feel confident.

[Kid Riemer]

You live where it is warm but there are food storage warehouses around you that will keep their storage units down to temps as low as 30 or 40 below zero.

If you can convince them to let you set up your bike on a trainer in their cold storage for a few hours, you can at least get a gauge on whether you are over or under dressing.

You won't be able to mimic the wind chill factor though you could by simply adding a fan.

[JayP]

You live where it is warm but there are food storage warehouses around you that will keep their storage units down to temps as low as 30 or 40 below zero.

If you can convince them to let you set up your bike on a trainer in their cold storage for a few hours, you can at least get a gauge on whether you are over or under dressing.

You won't be able to mimic the wind chill factor though you could by simply adding a fan.

Good point Kid! This reminds me of I belive Carl Hutchins from the UK that has done the Ultra Sport in AK several times, made it to Nome too. I read somewhere in his early learning days that he also used the freezer method to sort things out a bit. Man, I love to read/hear about others that will do anything to learn/experince it on there own...shows some real passion.

Just shows you don't have to live in the enviroment that you are actually going to face.

Oh, that's right I remember training for LaRuta when it was winter here. I would dress heavily and ride at the gym and then go do sessions in the suana. Sort of sounds good right now...

[Slim]

Check Wunderground.com for weather history, they allow you to pick a start and end date and then give you the min, max, avg temp, precip, wind etc., obviously pick dates a little before and after your race dates, to get a larger dataset. This can give you a good idea of what to expect.

I would add that the best single piece is a lightweight balaclava like the Craft one. Adds a lot of warmth, can be used a few different ways and is tiny!
Also consider the 3sp pants from Sporthill if your in the 20-40F range, I just submitted a review.

[cartographer]

I find a huge difference between when I'm on road vs trail.  I'll freeze doing the few miles to a trailhead and then be comfortably toasty when crawling along a snowy trail, even with some descents.  It's hard to overestimate the windchill/coasting downhill combination; though I don't know if you'll have many bits like that.  Be prepared to add a windproof layer for any significant descents.

I like to have zips that line up between layers if possible.  You lose a little potential warmth, but you can let in a heap of cooling to your core if you're about to start working hard.

I recently picked up some rainmates, and they have been nice for keeping my legs comfortable over long leg warmers; windproof front but breathable.  Otherwise, my long bike pants have a neoprene front and a thin back which does about the same thing.

I've been pondering the idea of Tyvek pogies, just to take the wind off.

As mentioned, shoe covers don't fare well with hike-a-bike, so platforms, or winter shoes are a real help.   You might be able to burrow someone's bigger shoes and layer inside.

[willapajames]

My brothers and a friend took a "spring break" (i.e. February/early March) trip to Pisgah way back when we were in highschool (mid 90's).  Rest assured, it can get plenty cold in the mountains of NC in winter.  There wasn't a whole lot of snow, but it was cold enough to freeze water in bottles.  I distinctly remember my camelback valve was a bit leaky, and dribbled on the vest I was wearing, eventually leading to a big icy patch.
It definitely won't get as cold and snowy as New England (I'm also now a Vermonter), but it can get pretty cold.  The same layering rules pretty much apply to all winter activities, so much of your winter cycling gear will work just fine for XC skiing, snowshoeing, hiking, whatever... if you ever move to a colder climate.

[willapajames]

I would add that the best single piece is a lightweight balaclava like the Craft one.

Really?  I've lived and played outdoors in cold climates (Maine/Vermont) for lots of years now, and I've never had one of those.  Maybe I ought to try one.

[fat bob]

Gain 40#'s.... it'll be tough, but I'm confident you can do it. Eat lots of pizza and drink a ton of beer. With all the extra fat you gain you'll have plenty of energy in "reserves", plus you can ride in 20* weather in a thong and still sweat! YMMV

[cartographer]

By the way, I actually tried creating some Tyvek pogies after ruminating on it a bit.  The surprisingly light and reasonably effective results are here:
http://forums.mtbr.com/showthread.php?t=584114