Warm Ridings to You

I did something yesterday that I thought I would never do. I wore a neck gaitor for the work commute. Yep. A neck gaitor. Granted, it was a very fancy Castelli Dade Windstopper one which, at the pull of a cord, becomes a sweet hat resplendent in euro coolness. But that's not how I was wearing it. I wore it like a bank robber's mask, up over my nose to the rim of my glasses. After twenty minutes I had warmed up enough to remove it from my nose and mouth and just use it around my neck, but I wouldn't take it off. It felt nice. I looked in the mirror when I got to work and had a good laugh. So did everyone else.

How cold does it have to be for me to wear a neck gaitor? The weather people say it's 20 degrees, but feels like single digits. Cold. At least by Portland standards.

In addition to my gaitor, I wore these crazy Etxe Ondo arctic bibtights I've had for years. Completely fleeced with windstopper panels all along the front of the legs. I bought them when I first moved here - they were on sale, and I thought I'd get some use from them a few times a year. Nope. Every time I've worn them, it's been in the 30's or 40's and I've become a steaming pool of sweat within a half-hour of riding. Not so yesterday morning. They were absolutely perfect. I felt no cold or wind whatsoever, and no sweat.

The road conditions were fine with my fat 28's, as long as I didn't mind riding in the traffic lane. Way too much ice and pounded, crunchy snow in the bike lane. And I did walk the bike for a total of three blocks, each of which were a sheet of glass.

Truth is, I prefer the bitter cold that gave us snow to the current weather - this evening has warmed up to the mid/high 30's and the snow has turned to a freezing rain that has covered everything in a sloppy slush that would make a bike drivetrain and brakes cry for mercy. I don't mind riding in cold and snow, or regular Portland winter rain, but this stuff is really ugly. I trade the bike for the car about once a month for one reason or another, and I think I have a good reason for tomorrow. Be safe out there.

Warm ridings,

Joshua/CycloSportif