December 30, 2009
Joe, I understand you lived in a rain cape for 6 years, but what did you use to keep your hands and feet warm/dry during all those early season days of cold rain?
Brian Ignatin - Pineville, Pennsylvania
Hands and feet? Honestly, I cannot remember because they have long succumbed to frostbite and fallen off.
Brian, it took me a really long time but eventually I wised up and fled the cold weather. This is one question that I have absolutely no answer for. I have tried any number of different kinds of shoe covers (aka booties) and gloves of every shape, kind, color and construction, to absolutely no avail. Yes, there are a ton of outstanding glove and shoe cover option available now but, for the most part, keeping your feet and hands warm has a lot to do with your own hands and feet.
In the 1991 Tulip team car, Allan Peiper and I both had duffel bags full of cold weather/rain gear. Allan's consisted of primarily gloves, since he had such a hard time keeping his hands warm. He would, in his own words, "become a total baby" if he couldn't keep his hands warm.
For feet ... you're on your own. I would really love to be able to tell you that brand x or y shoe covers will keep your feet warm but I cannot, in good conscience, do that. Personally, I have tried a number of different solutions, but I have never found the magic pill for keeping the feet warm. It is entirely possible that we could enter a year-long debate here where individuals could chime in and reveal their secrets as to how to keep feet warm on a ride, but ultimately nothing would be absolutely determined.
As a general rule for cold weather, looser is better, and layers are better. But as everyone knows, that's not always that easy because loose cycling shoes suck.
Hands are pretty much the same story. I have tried everything from gloves meant for arctic oil rig workers to motocross gloves and everything in between. For me, nothing works. Period. I have 8 red blood cells that most likely don't get along all that well. They circulate about as well as rush hour traffic on the 405 in Los Angeles. It truly sucks. My hands are never warm, on a bicycle, when the temperature is below about 40 degrees.
My remedy for that ... an indoor trainer, as loathsome as that may seem.
In races, I had both hits and misses. In many cases the cold and rain became too much to take and I would climb inside the broom wagon instead of risking a crash because I could no longer hold onto the handlebars or squeeze the brake levers. In other cases I was amazed that my hands and feet stayed as warm as they did.
To answer your question ... I have no answer. Mostly, I just suffered. If anyone has a better idea, let's hear it.
Hands and feet? Honestly, I cannot remember because they have long succumbed to frostbite and fallen off.
Brian, it took me a really long time but eventually I wised up and fled the cold weather. This is one question that I have absolutely no answer for. I have tried any number of different kinds of shoe covers (aka booties) and gloves of every shape, kind, color and construction, to absolutely no avail. Yes, there are a ton of outstanding glove and shoe cover option available now but, for the most part, keeping your feet and hands warm has a lot to do with your own hands and feet.
In the 1991 Tulip team car, Allan Peiper and I both had duffel bags full of cold weather/rain gear. Allan's consisted of primarily gloves, since he had such a hard time keeping his hands warm. He would, in his own words, "become a total baby" if he couldn't keep his hands warm.
For feet ... you're on your own. I would really love to be able to tell you that brand x or y shoe covers will keep your feet warm but I cannot, in good conscience, do that. Personally, I have tried a number of different solutions, but I have never found the magic pill for keeping the feet warm. It is entirely possible that we could enter a year-long debate here where individuals could chime in and reveal their secrets as to how to keep feet warm on a ride, but ultimately nothing would be absolutely determined.
As a general rule for cold weather, looser is better, and layers are better. But as everyone knows, that's not always that easy because loose cycling shoes suck.
Hands are pretty much the same story. I have tried everything from gloves meant for arctic oil rig workers to motocross gloves and everything in between. For me, nothing works. Period. I have 8 red blood cells that most likely don't get along all that well. They circulate about as well as rush hour traffic on the 405 in Los Angeles. It truly sucks. My hands are never warm, on a bicycle, when the temperature is below about 40 degrees.
My remedy for that ... an indoor trainer, as loathsome as that may seem.
In races, I had both hits and misses. In many cases the cold and rain became too much to take and I would climb inside the broom wagon instead of risking a crash because I could no longer hold onto the handlebars or squeeze the brake levers. In other cases I was amazed that my hands and feet stayed as warm as they did.
To answer your question ... I have no answer. Mostly, I just suffered. If anyone has a better idea, let's hear it.
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17 Responses to “Joe, I understand you lived in a rain cape for 6 years, but what did you use to keep your hands and feet warm/dry during all those early season days of cold rain?”
I’ll start. I have a pair of Body Glove wetsuit boots that I carved a hole in the bottom of to accommodate my cleats. I can ride in just about any temperature and my feet stay comfortably warm. I have commuted to work at 6AM in January in Michigan at -4 degrees F. A one hour ride…warm feet. Hard to get on and off but well worth it in the winter.
Wool under the shoe/neoprene over the shoe.
Gloves for me, Assos Thermax, I believe they’re called. Thick fleece. Best winter gloves I’ve ever had.
Indiana.
Hello all ,I started riding / racing in 81/82.I can relate to this struggle.I never saw a shoe cover til the mid 80’s around the time clipless pedals came along. I still ride in the winter outside and have never made it past 40 minutes on a trainer.To keep your feet warm use a thin polypro liner sock and another thin wool sock.I like the Pearl Izumi amphib shoe covers.The secret ingredient is buying a couple of boxes of the chemical HAND warmers.Place the hand warmer between the shoe on your toe and your shoe cover.The toe heaters suck they have a useless adhesive sticker and are more expensive.Save your money for entry fees ! As far as upper body a Patagonia Regulator top is the ticket along with a thermal jacket.Heavy fleece gloves work well forget most cycling specific gloves are not very warm.If it gets really cold and I have to put a little dewars in my bottle to keep the water from freezing the heavy windproof nylon gloves come out ! Last trick is a layer of vaseline on the exposed skin to form a layer of insulation.Don’t forget some music the grey skies in Ohio will drive you mad without some tunes.
Loved the book Joe ! Certainly could relate after hearing the stories from other guys back in the day.I used to race with some Enlish guys who talked about Belgium and staying at Mrs Deans incessantly.Happy New Year !Jeff
Wool is the key to staying warm on the bike in the rain. A nice, close fitting, old school wool jersey as a base layer, wool socks and wool gloves. If it’s crazy cold,maybe a wool hat, but that’s for the extremes. Because if you’re really going to ride in the rain, you are going to get wet, regardless of what you wear, and wool is the only way to stay warm when you’re wet. I always hear the complaints of it being uncomfortable against the skin, but that’s nonsense.
moving from the south to portland, OR was a thermal shock. not as cold but the rain makes it so much worse. nothing, absolutely nothing is waterproof. once it’s wet it’s all over. booties are for suckers. i use winter cycling shoes and they’re for more desperate suckers. believe it or not, trainers do provide their own style of suffering. get a cheap portable DVD player and invest in some cool cycling DVD’s and after awhile you’ll realize how little you actually pedal on the road. don’t forego the road though. got to keep it real.
Plastic grocery bags over the shoes and tied tight around ankle. Then a regular bootie over that. Yes your feet may be a bit wet from sweating, but the alternative is 1,000,000x worse.
Hands I have no idea. Nobody makes the perfect glove, at least none that can be properly utilized for braking, and drinking.
Thank you everyone for your answers.
Perhaps my question wasn’t phrased as clearly as I had intended. I have been riding since the early 80s, and have truly been “dyed in the wool.” So that aspect is covered.
I never have problems with keeping my upper body or legs warm. Getting my hands and feet warm during dry days, while somewhat cumbersome, isn’t all that difficult, though it becomes significantly more of a challenge when the temperatures drop below 30 degrees F.
But when it is 40 – 45 degrees F and raining, it seems nearly impossible, especially for the hands. Just about every product I have tried advertised as “waterproof” seems to be everything but.
So I was wondering wondering what solutions the pros have used for those torrential spring classic days… Photos from the 09 ToC showing Tim Johnson wearing dish washing gloves just doesn’t seem like a viable solution.
Again thank you for your answers, and best wishes for the new year to all. -Brian
So how do you feel about motorpacing?
Hey Brian, happy 2010. My solutions:
Feet get wool socks and shoe covers. If I’m racing, some embrocation on the dogs can help if it’s stupidly wet/cold. Hands: try the TJ trick. I like the blue nitrile gloves personally, but dishgloves work just as well. Just get them a touch loose (doesn’t impede circulation as much) and I like to exhale once or twice into the glove before sliding the hand in, it creates a nice warm layer of air, and the rubber acts much like a vapor barrier. Slide your prefered pair of cool/cold weather gloves over `em if you want some extra protection, and there you go.
Alternately, you can try something like a wetsuit glove: neoprene, which kinda does the same thing, you just have to ensure your glove cuffs are underneath whatever else so water doesn’t seep into the glove *as quickly* (cause it will eventually).
Hope one of those two suggestions helps!
in portland and seattle, I’ve been wearing neoprene shoe covers and wool snowboard socks, and i usually end up a little too hot. the neoprene gets a little wet in the rain, but the wool keeps you warm.
for hands I got some wool glove liners and some waterproof gloves from REI. I carry a second set of gloves when it’s really rainy, because there’s no such thing as truly waterproof gloves.
It’s really important to keep your legs and arms warm too: if your arms and legs are too cold, your hands and feet won’t be warm, either. invest in good raingear because being relatively dry is what keeps you warm.
I must chime in here, I got close to frostbite, big toenail fell off but on the web, there are real pictures of real frostbite feet, they blow up in size. I had nothing like that but funnily once, I had to change socks once on a ride the cold and wet were killing my feet. For awhile, I’d always carry along a pair of dry socks though a band-aid solution.
If you are not so much as racing in the cold but trying to survive it and if ‘clunky’ boots are okay, I got these ‘Acadian’ boots made by Sorel made up in the Maple Leaf country, they are like rubber rain shoes on the bottom but tall boots with a wool layering inside, hard to describe, just remember the brand name.
Neoprene socks additionally fixed me up. Combined with other warmth devices, I had no problem.
Cold can kill hands, I have some of those “Lobster” glove types and I’ll usually double layer it with an additional pair of gloves underneath. It took me a few winters to discover these secrets but now they work fine.
Lastly, if you are in real cold weather, ski suits/snow mobile suits do the job real well and in fact, ski suits can often fit up snuggly to the body so you are not out there like the Abominable Snowman and in fact, can be highly mobile. Ski suits can be bought used without much of a problem and if I ever find myself where I’m sweating a lot inside, I’m hoping it’s a bit like a steam room taking off unwanted weight.
I don’t need to go on about caps, a cap, maybe a headband too can work well.
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