Winter Bike Layers

To follow up on the other day's post when I showed my cross country ski layers - here is what I do for cycling in around 15-25 degree weather and a 5-15 mph wind. Any colder or warmer will change it substantially and when I hit those parameters I will post those as well:
This is a pair of wool socks, my ems fleece tights, and a starter long sleeve wicking shirt. I also have my RoadID and Garmin on but those do not provide protection unless it is an emergency!
This is a fleece beanie (which did not cover my ears enough so I will be wearing a different hat in this type of weather in the future - one that covers most of my ears and goes down to my forehead for wind chill protection), a pair of REI heavier fleece pants with nylon around the knee area, and a Patagonia cap 3 1/4 zip top.
My favorite jacket - The North Face Apex 3/4 zip. This has been discontinued and I cannot find anything remotely close to it. It is good wind and moderate precipitation protection. If you know of something comparable (under $100) let me know please! Everything else is the same!
The final addition is my Discovery Channel wind vest.

I have found that the coldest part of this training is the wind blowing on your chest area. My arms and legs really do not get cold so I focus on keeping the core as warm as possible but not overly sweaty!

Outside I put on my balaclava, shoes, Pearl Izumi Neoprene Booties (awesome), Pearl Izumi Lobster Gloves (awesome), helmet with a blinking light on front and my red blinker on the back of it. Visibility is as important as comfort. If you get hit it does not matter how comfortable you were - remember that!

Hopefully we get some real cold weather and I will show you a small addition I add.

Let me know if you have any questions.

No Running For A While

Well the last couple of months have been a whirlwind concerning my running.

Here is a brief synopsis:

October: I have a leg flare up that makes me stop running and almost cry. Pain is so severe it effected my lower back so I went to a friend of ours for chiropractor care and he diagnoses it as ITBS. Tells me to take 6 weeks off of running, focus on a foam roller and aqua jogging.

Mid November: I begin a 1min walk/run program for a couple of weeks and then start off running 1 mile, slowly increasing to 1.5 miles, and then 2 miles.

December: Hit the 2 mile point and my leg is bothering me again so I set up an appointment with a local sports doctor after our vacation return during the holidays.

Last Week: Diagnosed with osteoarthritis in my hip and am told I should not run ever again. Have 2 x-rays taken and wait for results. Get a letter in the mail saying X-Ray is fine and that is all. I call a doctor who is a friend and discuss with him and he offers to see me to help diagnose the problem.

Last Night: Diagnosed with Femoral Nerve inflammation. Now I am in the waiting game of seeing a neurologist next week to see how we can get the inflammation to disappear so I can run again.

My promise is that if I am able to run again - An Ironman will be signed up for 2011 and a fall marathon!

I miss running!

Layering #1

I decided to start taking pictures of the layers I wear so that if you like to play in the cold weather you can get an idea of what I use and can make adjustments from there.

Yesterday was around 23 or so with a pretty good wind. When it is windy I like zippers so I can close them in a headwind and open them in a tail wind for comfort reason.

This is an Wal-Mart brand Wicking Long Sleeve Shirt, EMS Fleece Tights, REI hiking socks and a North Face hat:
Then I added a 1/4 zip North Face SDS pullover and REI Heavy Duty Wind Pants with side zippers. Don't know why I took the hat off for this one but it stayed on the whole time:


I added a Bontrager Full Zipper Hooded Sweatshirt as my final layer. I wanted the hood in case of a bad wind or heavy snow but could have gotten away with my North Face 3/4 Zip Apex Jacket. In the headwinds I was very comfortable and like I said with the zippers I was in good shape with the tail winds as well.

Next post will be a cold night ski trip which I plan on taking tonight and I can have my daughter take the photos!

Gloves were a light pair of coolmax that I got a local sporting goods store. My half gloves/mittens disappeared and I love those for skiing because I can get at the food, camera, or zippers without removing gloves!

The New Year

Well the holidays have come and gone. We were in Florida for a week or so and got to enjoy some nicer weather than Buffalo generally has in the winter time. Went to Disney World for the day and even did some Mountain Biking in the Tampa area with a Trans-Iowa buddy. Good times!

Since then the snow has been falling so I have been finding solitude in the local park Cross Country Skiing - Great Times!

Anyone hungry?

This past Saturday they opened up the Toboggan Hills for the first since I moved to Buffalo. We went after the basketball game and had a great time. This picture is from Sunday but it gives you the idea!
Think anyone is worried about their Heart Rate at any particular time on this hill?

I have been biking as much as the snowmobile trails and weather allow as well. All is for Trans-Iowa which is less than four months away.

Keep enjoying the awesome winter weather!

Winter Arrived

The cross country trail at Sprague Brook County Park. Virgin snow waiting for me to break through for the years first excursion.

It was hard work but it was awesome. I look forward to many more trips and once they groom the trail I go off trail on the bike/hike trail at the park and have even more fun.

I also have been riding pretty frequently but nothing like the first big snow!

Mr. Fat Cyclist

This guy is amazing! He wrote an open letter to Johan Bruyneel (http://www.fatcyclist.com/)
and got this reply (http://www.johanbruyneel.com/blog.html) to accept him into the Team Radioshack training camp this weekend.

They have raised an extraordinary amount of money and I doubt it is all about the prizes that could be won http://www.fisherbikes.com/bike/model/superfly or this autographed bike by the team.
These guys really hate cancer and that is a great thing. You can donate off of Fatty's blog page if you want to hate cancer as well!

Training for TransIowa is going on and on - just about 30 miles a day on the bike. This weekend if the weather cooperates might call for a longer ride!

Night Time Rain Ride

For the past 2 years or so Wednesday night has been my night to ride. The kids go to their youth church programs and the wife hangs out with her friends waiting for them so I have always ridden on Wednesday night once school resumes.

There have been some memorable rides in very cold weather and a ride when I stopped by church on the way home and had all over my jacket. My riding buddies wife tells my wife that is what they call a rostertail. I correct her - nope this is just plain old mud from a wreck on the trail.

I remember endoing on the mountain bike one time because I went to adjust my helmet after bumping a tree branch with it at the same time my tire hits a root and throws me forward. A very important lesson was learned - never hold the front brake only. My body weight shoved my hand onto the brake and all I remember is thinking - Oh Sh*t - and over the bars I went. It was funny when no body damage occurred!

This all brings me to last night. I was at the gym working out and decided (actually just confirmed an earlier thought about riding later) that I was riding no matter what the weather was doing. I showered at the gym, headed home in the rain, and my wife asked me what my plans were. I told her I put gas in the car so she could go see her sister's new house and I was going for a ride. The normal puzzling look came at me - you are riding in this weather? Yes.

The way I see it is that TransIowa is happening sun or shine. I had my good weather window opportunity last year and blew it so I am figuring on being wet this year so I might as well figure on getting some wet riding in to test my gear.

So I put on my gear: Long sleeve wicking shirt, hoodie (which I will skip next time), pull over 3/4 zip North Face Apex jacket (which I love!!!!), Team Discovery bike shorts, REI wind pants (time to see how they fare against the rain not just wind), old shoes, Pearl Shoe Covers, and my Trek Rain Jacket, Mountain Hardware beanie, and my lighter winter gloves because it was not that cold out!

I had no idea where I was going so I just peddled and turned when I felt like it. Ended up by the ski area on the top side and did my killer hill ride on Wolheiter. Cruised down to church for a restroom break (and to show off that I was tough enough to ride in all type of weather!) and headed home.

It was a short ride but provided me with some good ideas about TransIowa. I need to look into a bike computer that has a light for night time mileage checks and I need to contemplate a better light set.

No pictures because it was dark :)