November 12th Commute - Getting cooler

 


Down to the low twenty's this morning so I got to test out the goggles and Underarmour Coldgear balaclava.  When heading into the wind you could feel it on my head thru my helmet.  I didn't get cold, but I wasn't warm and toasty.  Not that one always needs to be riding a bike.  My arms also felt the cold a bit more.  The Pearl Izumi jacket is finally finding it's limits.  Still with my fleece vest my core never got cold.  I've been looking at "COLD" weather jackets but have yet to find one that really fits the bill for what I want.

Temp - 22degrees - Feels like 18
Wind - 10mph sustained out of the south west

Me:
Head - 7 OK  (Buff, Goggles, and Underarmor coldgear balaclava)
Hands - 10 Awesome (Columbia gloves - perfect for the morning)
Chest - 8 Warm (Pearl Izumi Jacket and fleece vest.)
Legs - 7 OK (Jeans)
Feet -8 Good (Boots and flat pedals)
Overall Physical feel - 8 (Legs felt a little tired.  Might have been the cooler temps.)

Bike ratings as follows.  One will mean total equipment failure.  Ten means it totally served it's purpose and I need to write more positive reviews on it.

Bike: Redline Monocog
Tires - 8(Fine)
Brake  - 9(New Hope)
Drivetrain - 8(Silky smooth)
Overall/Other - 9(Monocog is a great rig)

Total Score: 82

Things to change - Figure out the head combo for different weathers.

Things I noticed -  Chilly legs = Dead legs?

November 11th commute - Humidity makes a difference.

Few new things on the ride that are note worthy today.  It's the first cold commute that the afternoon temp is colder then the morning temp.  Next thing is that my new Swrve wool cycling cap doesn't work all that well in 32 or cooler weather.  It wasn't bad on the return trip home in combo with one of my buff's.  Still wasn't as good as a dual buff set up.  Humidity makes it much colder out.

Temp - 32/28degrees
Wind - 10mph sustained out of the North

Me:
Head - 6 OK but cool. (Swrve hat a bit chilly for this weather)
Hands - 10 Awesome (Columbia gloves - perfect for the morning)
Chest - 10 Awesome (Pearl Izumi Jacket and fleece vest.)
Legs - 8 just fine (Jeans)
Feet -8 Good (Boots and flat pedals)
Overall Physical feel - 9 (Little more resistance in the snow but not much.)

Bike ratings as follows.  One will mean total equipment failure.  Ten means it totally served it's purpose and I need to write more positive reviews on it.

Bike: Redline Monocog
Tires - 8(Fine not sliding in the snow)
Brake  - 9(New Hope)
Drivetrain - 8(Silky smooth)
Overall/Other - 9(Monocog is a great rig)

Total Score: 85

Things to change - Figure out the head combo for different weathers.

Things I noticed -  Humidity makes it extra cool.