Getting too cold.

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Mick F
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Getting too cold.

Post by Mick F »

Out today, I waited until the temp was up above freezing, and the frost had thawed.
Down here in the Far West, we don't get sub-zero all day, but we get a "window" from 10ish to 4ish, so off I went into 4degC into a stiff northerly wind and up onto the westerly edge of Dartmoor circa 1,100ft before heading west through Lydford.

Trouble is, the hills downward produce a great deal of windchill, and the hills upward produce sweat. I did 29miles today with 3,200ft of ascent. Considering I started from home and returned home, the total decent was 3,200ft too.

After a dozen miles reaching Lydford, I went down. By then, I was sweaty so windchill got to me. The road undulated somewhat for the rest of the ride, so I took my time on the uphills, especially a long long one getting into bottom gear and plodded up maybe 2miles and by the time I was up there, I was toasty warm.

Trouble is, from there there are two long downhills plus a long stretch of fast easy going, then a plunge of 2miles right down into the Tamar Valley over the bridge back into Cornwall. By the time I made it to the bridge at the bottom, I was freezing cold right through to my bones. :shock:

Up hill from there into the village and half a mile to home.
I arrived in the house absolutely frozen and blue with cold. Two cups of tea, lit the fire, and I'm still frozen, so I had a long soak in a hot deep bath.
That did the trick! :D

During my ride, I had three layers on top, shorts plus bib tights, a windproof winter top, thick windproof socks, two layers of gloves, a skull cap under my helmet, and for the first hour I was as warm as toast.
Everything I was wearing was breathable.

What happens, is that my kit gets damp from sweat and my heat gets conducted away and chills me right down.

Sorry for the long explanation, but does anyone have any advice?
Am I working too hard and sweating?
Mick F. Cornwall
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[XAP]Bob
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Re: Getting too cold.

Post by [XAP]Bob »

Wear less, carry newspaper.

I think that with your extreme variation in gradient, and therefore effort, you just need to be changing the amount of clothing you wear.
A shortcut has to be a challenge, otherwise it would just be the way. No situation is so dire that panic cannot make it worse.
There are two kinds of people in this world: those can extrapolate from incomplete data.
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Mick F
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Re: Getting too cold.

Post by Mick F »

Yes.
Chatting to Mrs Mick F, it was what we were suggesting.
Trouble is, the first mile is down steeply circa 30mph into the deep part of the valley. Brrrrrrr :shock:
Maybe I should just grin and bear it and warm up as I go up the other side, but within a mile, it's down into another steep valley.
Mick F. Cornwall
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[XAP]Bob
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Re: Getting too cold.

Post by [XAP]Bob »

You just need to stop and change layers, or at least have them open when downhill...

You could try and do the Tour thing and change whilst sitting up and pedalling at a mere 30mph, but ask Contador how that can go wrong and decide whether a break at the top/bottom isn't easier.
A shortcut has to be a challenge, otherwise it would just be the way. No situation is so dire that panic cannot make it worse.
There are two kinds of people in this world: those can extrapolate from incomplete data.
Tonyf33
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Re: Getting too cold.

Post by Tonyf33 »

I have a not disimilar problem, very cold outside, layer up, get hot/sweaty from pedalling hard then forever adjusting what I'm wearing/undoing zips etc to match body temp.
If it's really cold (2 degrees or below) then I'll put on my Nalini pro bibs tights and a pair of padded undercracker type short. Generally my feet don't bother me that much if they get cold so just one pair of thermal socks does the trick unless it's very bitter winds/well below zero and then I'll put on a pair of other cycling sock.

Top wise is always the difficult bit to get right, I do long sleeve technical with a 1/4zip, Polaris windproof top with full zip and then if dry a tresspass TP100 which is one of their highest level breathable/water-resistant softshells. After an effort and I've warmed up I'll either take the top layer off or the middle layer depending on how I feel.
Head wise after the first few miles I normally take off my open topped hat and very rarely put a headband on if it's really windy to keep the ears warm.

I might be sweaty at the end of a ride but I don't have any effects from windchill because of it, I guess how much breathability and windproof protection is down to how good/bad your kit is and indeed how much of a sweat you work up with your effort. I find it difficult to ride below a certain pace even when I want/need to..
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NATURAL ANKLING
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Re: Getting too cold.

Post by NATURAL ANKLING »

Hi,
Not sure exactly what you are wearing as my knowledge of modern cycling gear is poor as I cant afford it.
I have several winter tops (lidl several years back) that I only wear when temp is at zero.

The first thing you need in that weather is a full length zip on your top most layer, that way you can regulate your temp up / downhills.
On my cheap wind proof top (not the ones above) I added elastic cuffs with toggles to loosen the elastic so wind blows up the arms and out through open zip. All this allows you to tune the venting.

With out a full zip you will be too hot on the hills.
Some modern cycling tops that I wear I am impressed with as they allow sweat but stop wind better than my old t shirt.
But they are useless at keeping you warm if you stop and you will lose heat quickly going down hill as even if wind proof there is NO insulation to stop you getting cold.

So you need a good top that has medium / heavy fleece like build with a full zip and a wind proof front and arms panels.
Also thicker tights will help with overall heat retension.

I went out on Monday and was forced to wear 3/4 tights :? Glad I did but even at zero to 4 degrees my back of thighs did sweat some on the way home.
I noticed that when I stop for a few minutes with my wind proof 100 gram top I get cold but with the fleeced wind proof top I don't but can still allow venting, head was sweating with balaclava though, so had to take it off when I stopped at the tip.

The Fleeced windproof top is warm enough that I only needed a thin sleeved base layer, this to has a top zip but did not need it that day.

If you don't have a full zip outer layer then you would probably overheat on the hills if you were togged up enough to brave the downhills into the valleys.
Even the best gear would struggle to dissipate all that sweat through the layers so sweat is inevitable.
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thirdcrank
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Re: Getting too cold.

Post by thirdcrank »

Windproof front, well-ventilated back is my prescription. Most of my cycling-specific togs of this type come from a French company called Chapak, imported and distributed by Mike Dyason aka Ozzo, but I think Chapak have gone to the wall. They used to do cycling tights with stretch Gore Windstopper facing and a Roubaix back. Brilliant, but not much use if you cannot get them.

BTW, in the last few days I've seen two riders out in shorts. The first was a mountain biker on Sunday morning and on Tuesday morning I saw a rider on a road bike in the Sky road kit, with only long sleeves as a concession to the cold and lycra road shorts. Brrrr!.
The fat commuter
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Re: Getting too cold.

Post by The fat commuter »

What layers are you wearing?

DS goes to scouts and he has always been told to wear man made fibres as they dry quicker. We got him something similar to these:
http://www.gooutdoors.co.uk/hi-gear-reg ... ee-p205118
They also come in long sleeve. I think that my shorts are a similarish material. Even when they've got absolutely soaked, they dry out in no time.

When I ride into and home from work, I wear a standard 'T' shirt and it is soaking by the end of my journey. However, I suppose that the luminous builder's fleece that I wear on top doesn't help matters. Thinking about it, maybe one or two of those technical 'T' shirts may work for me. May save me sitting at the desk with the fan on for ten minutes before I get changed.
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Re: Getting too cold.

Post by Vorpal »

I have a similar problem, but at slightly colder temperatures. I've been cycling in below freezing, and I cannot keep my extremities warm without several layers everywhere, but I do get sweaty in it all and damp underneath in my armpits and back especially. Even if I strip layers and open vent zips once I warm up, there doesn't seem to be anything between cold and sweaty. I'd rather sweaty, so I just live with it. The best I seem to be able to manage is a wicking layer with a warm one over it. The best is my Devold merino top, which has both in one garment. I do sweat alot, and I need to work fairly hard to get to work in a reasonable time.

I have a downhill going home, and wear an extra layer for that. Once I finish the hill, I've only got 3 miles or so to home, so I don't usually bother to remove the extra layer.
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NATURAL ANKLING
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Re: Getting too cold.

Post by NATURAL ANKLING »

Hi,
My daily commute used to be two miles down hill where I would curl my fingers under the bars so my exposed finger tips were not so cold.
My jaw used to ache and teeth would chatter, then uphill to work and finish sweaty.
Those were the days of knitted mits and hats and acrylic jumpers.
I started wearing proper cycle specific jerseys about 4-5 years ago, they are far better than the T shirts I wore for decades, well worth the few pounds.
If you just want to keep warm then several layers are recommended BUT..when exercising especially cycling in the cold a thick fleece top with a zip and thin layer/s beneath means a quick cool down when needed via the zip.

I resisted the shorts only on Monday and even wore trousers on a trip to town, unusual for me, but I am glad I did.
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Please forgive the poor Grammar I blame it on my mobile and phat thinkers.
freeflow
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Re: Getting too cold.

Post by freeflow »

I've recently had an epiphany regarding cycling gear. Over the past two weeks I've ridden the same route five times. The first three I came back absolutely soaked in sweat. That was wearing an light merino base layer, an aldi winter jersey and an aldi winter jacket. I swapped to the merino base layer and just a dhb roubaix winter jersey. I've since done the same ride twice and have come back absolutely dry but quite cool. The big difference for me was a better fitting winter jersey and eliminating the windproofing of the winter jacket

For longer rides I'm planning on doubling up on the base layer.

Be aware that the above is based on a rider with a Bmi of 33 :(
binsted
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Re: Getting too cold.

Post by binsted »

Mick F wrote:Yes.
Chatting to Mrs Mick F, it was what we were suggesting.
Trouble is, the first mile is down steeply circa 30mph into the deep part of the valley. Brrrrrrr :shock:
Maybe I should just grin and bear it and warm up as I go up the other side, but within a mile, it's down into another steep valley.


I think you have hit the nail on the head Mick **** !!

I do not think there is an ideal solution but I love some of the suggestions that wearing certain manufacturers gear solves the problem. You know in cycling there is such a small temperature window for clothing requirements. Biggest problem I have found with low temperatures comes with stopping and chilling quickly so I very often miss the cafe stop in winter, just get the ride done and TBH I could not faff about continuously adding layers and taking them off mid ride.

Only solution I can see is to ease off the pace in sub zero conditions including downhills but I guess that goes against the grain.
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Mick F
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Re: Getting too cold.

Post by Mick F »

The fat commuter wrote:What layers are you wearing?
I had three good quality base layers, and topped with this.
http://www.wiggle.co.uk/dhb-windslam-ro ... 5360565796
dhb-Windslam-Roubaix-Long-Sleeve-Jersey-Long-Sleeve-Jerseys-Red-A0684.jpg

This top is absolutely excellent. It vents round the back and under the arms.

My bottom half was fine. Padded cycling shorts under Adidas cycling bib tights.

When I took my gear off, the tops were damp right through. This therefore tells me that not enough of my sweat was evaporating away and I chilled down as it tried to evaporate on the long fast downhills.

I suppose that I was overdressed. The gear is good quality and one of the base layers is Marino, the bottom one was a Gore base layer and the middle one was a Lidl one. Maybe I should have cut down to just the Marino, and been cold, but with work I could get warm .............. but dry.

Yes, maybe overdressed?
Mick F. Cornwall
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Paulatic
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Re: Getting too cold.

Post by Paulatic »

1 Buffalo top would have kept you comfortable through the entire ride. Even if it had rained.
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Vorpal
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Re: Getting too cold.

Post by Vorpal »

Mick F, I don't wear three base layers in Norway!

My normal attire down to around freezing is one merino or technical base layer, one winter jersey, plus my cycling jacket. I also carry a thicker merino layer that I can put under or over the jersey, if I need it, or instead of the jacket, once I warm up. The jacket holds in a quite a lot of warmth and moisture, but I need its wind blocking characteristic until I warm up, and on the way home (mostly downhill).

Below freezing, I add one layer.
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