I'm a Cold Cyclist...Brrrrr

This is the first year I have been a WINTER cyclist.

In past years if it was dark at 5 p.m., well, my bike was hung up in the garage and I went to spin class during the week. On the weekend if I had a bike ride planned, but it ended up being COLD, or WINDY, or DRIZZLY, I'd skip it and read by the fire.

 

This is not me reading by the fire. It would have been LAST year or the year before, but this year (and it was last night) it is me trying to UNFREEZE in front of the fire after a bike ride.

Yes, I live in Southern California.

To me, anything under 60 degrees is chilly.

Anything under 50 degrees is cold.

Anything under 45 degrees is freezing.

So, when it gets to be around 47 degrees and it is windy and I am riding my bike and it is dark...DAMN, that's cold!!!!!

DOUBLE DAMN, I am cold!!!

 

I was dressed for the weather. My face was okay. I had on two shirt and my jacket. I was wearing my Capri workout pants, cycling leg warmers and my Capri bike pants. I had on wicking run socks and my compression socks, along with my bike shoes. I had on a neck buff, a cycling cap under my helmet and long-fingered gloves.

Please message me what is wrong with this picture.

 

Everything on me was NOT-freezing except for my feet.

My feet were cold and frozen!!!

My feet were ice cubes.

They were so cold they hurt.

But I didn't cry....I just kept wiggling my toes around and kept pedaling.

 

About 20 miles later I was home.

I turned to my friend Orietta and asked her if her feet were cold.

"Yes," she said.

Yes? That was it?

Not, "OMG, my feet are so cold they feel like Popsicles."

 

I hobbled into the house and took off my bike shoes, my compression socks and my wicking socks and wiggled my toes. They hurt. They hurt to wiggle. They hurt to hold still.

In desperation, I grabbed the "warming booties" my friend had given me for Christmas and threw them in the microwave. They have rice packets in them that heat up in the microwave. Then you put them on your feet and warm your feet.

 

AHHHHHHHHHHHH! OUUUUUUCHHHH!!!!!

 

At first I felt nothing....then slowly my toes began to defrost and a couple of minutes later....YYYAAAHHHLLL!

TOO HOT!!!!!

 

I am not going to stop riding at night, even in the cold.

Today I drove to Don's Bike Shop in Redlands and plopped down some money for some toe warmers.

I'm trying them out tomorrow morning when my triathlon club has a 50-mile ride on the Santa Ana River Trail.

I have my fingers crossed that I don't have to stop along the way and jump up and down to try to get blood into my frozen toes.

 

How do you keep you tootsies warm in the cold?

Let me know.