Post Punk Kitchen Forum

I mostly commute by bike, but since I live so close to everything I probably do less than 50 miles a week on my city bike. We have been mountain biking nearly every weekend, but now that winter is approaching I am getting panicky about not being able to go.

We went to a cross race last week and it was amazing and I really want to do it. Does anyone do it? Is that a whole other thread?

What kind of douche bag steals a bike seat! The same douche that steals spare tire levers!

Why do people have to steal things off and vandalize bikes?!?!? *Holds head*

for all of you that ride throughout the cold months, what socks have you found that work well?

I have a few options but my "winter" socks are a bit thick and make my foot a bit tight in my cycling shoes. Since poor circulation due to a tight fit can make your feet get cold easier, Im looking for some for some better alternatives.

hey bike folks!

i also commute by bike most of the time. i just started a job that is 6 miles away, so i've been doing at least 60 miles most weeks, plus a bit extra from biking to friends' houses and whatnot. i've been riding a 3-speed commuter bike that i like a lot, but i recently took a bike repair class and fixed up an old 5-speed schwinn varsity road bike. i am excited to start riding it next week, but nervous because sometimes leaning over for a long time can make my back hurt. i want to be faster but not at the expense of back pains.

in the winter, i just wear regular socks but i wear super heavy duty warm, waterproof boots (timberlands that i've had for at least a decade.) even when my thighs are all red and numb, my feet hardly ever get more than a little chilly.

yeah, i do see a lot of people swap from cycling shoes to boots/ect. in the winter. My commutes pretty long so id like to stay in the cycling shoes but Im on the look out for a used set of winter shoes like the sidi hydros.

As far as your back pain, the key is flexibility. If your not already doing so stretching every day will help a great deal. Until then you can always raise your quill stem so that your not bent over quite as far.

electric_claire, check in to make sure your bike fit is dialed in, too. A poor bike fit (they say "millimeters are miles"--tiny adjustments in your fit can make enormous differences) will make anybody hurt. You could read up on how to adjust bike fit yourself or take it into a nice bike shop and ask for some help.

Eric, I started using these last year: http://www.realcyclist.com/gore-bike-wear-alaska-windstopper-sock?CMP_SKU=GBW0050&MER=0406&CMP_ID=SH_FRO010&mv_pc=r126&mr:trackingCode=DA73A024-9563-DF11-9DA0-002219319097&mr:referralID=NA

and love them. I HATE trying to get booties on over my shoes and just wearing warm socks wasn't cutting it. Starting to use these completely changed my attitude toward winter riding.

go to the bike kitchen!!! they will hook you up. i would recommend going on woman and trans night if they're still doing it. check out the calendar.

i had my first snowy bike commute today! i was SO excited. (i just moved here from san francisco.) i'm a total wimp about cold but i admit it wasn't really very cold this morning and i was surprisingly comfortable. i still desperately need some winter biking gear. any recommendations are appreciated!

oh i love bikes. i used to do anywhere from 3-15 miles a day, but it has been a lot less recently which is kind of a bummer. between my boyfriend breaking an ankle and needing to be driven everywhere for most of the summer, and then me spraining my ankle and being unable to ride for a while, and then getting an internship that requires driving some days (with no warning as to what days those might be) it has really cut down on my riding time. i almost have a nice surly cross-check built up thought which i hope to take on some longer rides until my face falls off from the cold.

Thanks! I will look into those. Need to suck it up and buy a nice set of socks :) I agree, booties can be a bit annoying but i ususally leave them on my shoes when it gets this cold and pull them down a bit to get to the straps.



The key is layering. I usually use a base layer like underarmor up top, then a jersey and a shell, with more layers under the shell depending how cold it is. Then cycling shorts/bibs and tights over top of those and when its really cold a set of leg warmers over top or some shell for the legs (but rarely use that). For the head I run my cycling hat with a beanie and when its colder a balaclava/bandanna and a lot of people wear ski goggles when it gets really cold. You can also get helmet covers to block wind from coming into the helmet but Ive never tried those. Im still trying to find the best socks but “Pop!” above suggested some gore socks then some booties over top of your shoes (if your wearing cycling shoes). For hands id go with something with liner gloves on the inside and most people really like the lobster type of glove, rather than mittens. I big problem is if you ever get a technical like a flat, changing in the blistering cold and touching bare metal is the pits… it also can be pretty dangerous since you start sweating and can get really cold very fast. For dexterity purposes when its cold people go to flat bars as well. Depending on how long the commute is/temperature ive seen people stuff hot packs in gloves/shoes/ect. Im sure others will chime in but its all about figuring out what to wear in that temp. The best idea is to be in something that your cold in and as you warm up feel comfortable in, rather than being warm when you start off and getting hot once your warmed up.

yesterday my boyfriend and I registered for the Horrible Hundred, except for the 35-mile route because we've been lazy and haven't been riding as much as we should. but I'm still super excited! hopefully this will kick my butt into getting motivated to ride bigger races and I can actually do the hundred next year.

I wrote this post on the last page. It's slightly more geared toward city commuting, but I think the basics apply to anywhere. Whether you have cycling specific gear or regular streetwear, the key is definitely layering.

Even on the coldest, nastiest day last year (something in the single digits with typical blustery intense Chicago winds), I would wear a tank top, long sleeved t-shirt, hoodie and my Taku on top, jeans with tights, a 3 pair of socks system and boots on the bottom, lobster gloves, my balaclava and a really warm, ridiculously pink fluffy hunter's cap from Target. Wow. That was quite a sentence.

lobster gloves! balaclava! yes, that's what i need. i also have ski goggles just in case. man, living somewhere with a cold winter is so much more expensive.

My commute's only 6 miles a day but I bike everywhere else, and I recently did my first century: http://blog.sugarbeatsweets.com/?p=176

This is me when I first got my current bike two Marches ago and jesus christ did my hair look bad. Ignore it! Look at the bike! Her name is Lola! (I have another one named Bettie.)

this place is dead... i vote more bike photos.

Wow -- congrats on the century! That is still a goal of mine. I'm going out for a little Thanksgiving ride tomorrow, I expect it will be only 20 miles or so. Oh well.

Keep on pedaling everyone!

I've told myself I'm going to put Bikey into retirement starting from December. It's. So. Cold.

I did 27 miles today! I feel great about it. (I am still recovering from a surgery last spring.) It was cold-ish this morning but that's relative of course. I love living in a place where I don't have to put away the bikes for winter. (I did have the leg warmers and arm warmers and all, though.)

My commuter is named Lola!

I have felt so lazy lately. We were on vacation for two weeks and then I worked in a different city for a week. Three weeks off my bike and that first morning up the wake-up hill right outside my house was a big reminder that I had been using walking muscles and not biking muscles. But nothing compares to my bike. My commute is short enough that it's tights with jeans, shirt-hoodie-army coat, lobster gloves, knit hat under helmet. I need to figure out better, non-mesh shoes but other than that I'm ok for winter. There is a smallish Gary Fisher at the shop my partnerguy works at that we might build into a proper winter commuter for me. I need to think of a lurid color to paint it to match his tacky pink commuter.

ever since i moved to sf i have not been riding, however, i think that is about to change. i have a job that requires driving. i have a ton of large equipment that i have to haul and my office is pretty far away, across a bridge that i cannot ride my bike on. anyway, i will probably be buying a new bike in the next few weeks and i am pretty excited to get back to riding!

my fiance is a bicycle enthusiast, he lives and breathes bikes. in dc we had something like 24 bikes in our apartment, we are down to under 10! his most recent purchase was a pegoretti and he is loving it, he did his first double century a few weeks ago in death valley.

nice. the girlfriend and I went out for a quick jaunt this sunday as well. leg/arm wamers are nice as it gets hotter in the day to peel off layers. Knee warmers are also nice to have since keeping your knees warm/out of direct wind is key.

oh and did anyone else spend a bit too much on "black friday" deals? because I did.... :)

Oooh! Nice! I go back and forth about using a trainer; I really just try to get myself out there as long as it isn't raining. Any place with snow and ice though -- trainer = brilliant.

Also: Yes about the knees! My leg warmers cover my knees and sometimes I will wear them just to have the extra covering. (I've been wearing fleece knickers for months. Our summer was never warm enough for shorts this year.)

Yeah I agree. Ill commute until there is snow/ice on the ground then am usually on the rollers.

Good good! Saw some people out this weekend ~40F out with shorts on and nothing covering their knees :/ Still trying to figure out some thin socks that will keep my feet warm in the cold temps though.

JEALOUS!!!!! I want a trainer so bad.