HOT! Too HOT!
Pardon the Spaceballs reference.
Anyone who's in or near Kansas City (or heck, any where in the midwest) will think I'm crazy saying "Too hot!" because yesterday, temps plummeted from MORE THAN 50 DEGREES down to single digits in under 24 hours, along with sleet, ice, and a brief bout of snow last night. Temperature on departure this morning: 4°F.
I'm slowly amassing more cold-weather cycling gear. Over the weekend, I bought a cheap but very warm pair of mittens (pictured below) and another inexpensive form-fitting long-sleeve base layer shirt.
Despite the chilly temperatures, I was overdressed this morning. I just had too many layers on up top. Legs were fine with a base layer, flannel and cargo pants. Feet were great. Wool against my feet, plastic bags, then cotton on the outside, all stuffed into my tennis shoes which I'd loosened quite a bit to keep my blood circulation good.
I had two balaclavas on. I could have gotten by with just one. The Seirus balaclava (made with Thermax) is very thin and thus breathable, but is deceptively warm. The goggles were a welcome addition this morning. My eyes probably wouldn't freeze up at 4 degrees, but I would probably get tears that would freeze in my eyelashes. It's more of a comfort thing than a necessity.
My torso, though, was burning up. I had my new base layer on, with a long-john shirt and synthetic running shirt under my ski coat. It was just overkill. I could have gotten rid of the long john shirt or gone with a thinner outer layer. Perhaps a hoodie and windbreaker instead of the ski coat.
My thick ski gloves start getting chilly below 10°F. These were really, really warm this morning, and I scored them for $7 at the local grocery store. They have reinforced thumb webbing that's made for gripping ski poles. Needless to say, they work great on handlebars as well.
Random Tunage:
Crystal Method - Bad Stone
The Act - Something About You
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