Wishing you the best, as always, Dalai.
Originally Posted by
Heathpack
Ave temp on my ride this am was 30F.
I wasn't even cold, felt perfectly comfortable once I got going (was admittedly a little cold during my warm-up).
I've got the cold weather gear down:
1. Shorts, DeFeet knee warmers, two pairs of tights (not cycling tights, just regular women's tights that I get at Marshall's for $5/pr)
2. Wool turtleneck base layer, wool winter jersey. Just got the jersey and its awesomely warm. Nice feature is that the lateral aspect of the cuffs are cut a little long, so your sleeves overlap with your gloves nicely. Then a light wind jacket over that.
3. Light wool socks (@shovelhd was right about this), with chemical foot warmers on top of my toes, then my cycling shoes and toe covers and and then an oversock over the whole thing. (Still waiting for my booties to arrive).
4. Glove liners that have a little pocket on the back for chemical hand warmers, with regular cycling gloves over them.
For whatever reason, my face and head don't get cold. I just wear my regular helmet, not even a hat.
Funny how it's all relative. If I had all of that on at 30F, I'd be seriously overdressed. I find there are a lot of factors, including wind, expected effort level, and (weirdly) how late in the season it is. 40F in April can feel colder than 20F in January. The effort level is key, too, if I know I'll be doing work, I need to be shivering leaving the house.
But like you, I feel like I've got the gear selection down for whatever the temp is, and I rarely get it wrong any more. A windstopper base layer, glove liners, and chemical foot warmers are staple items, and I have a couple of key pieces of sub-freezing gear, namely
these bib tights, and
these boots.