Here we are well into December and I can report that I’ve embarked on my second year of winter biking. In years past I admit that I left my bike at home when temperatures got below freezing. Now, however, I bike in temperatures as low as 15 degrees. I still generally avoid snow and ice. However, you’d be surprised how quickly roads get free of snow and ice even in an Upper Midwestern winter. Plows, salt, traffic, and the sun make quick work of the frozen stuff. For much of the winter the roads are bare and the traction is good. 

The key to successful winter biking is dressing warmly - but not too warmly, because when you bike you generate a lot of heat. So, when it’s 20 degrees out, for example, as it has been lately, I wear a short- or long-sleeve t-shirt, a sweater, and a windbreaker. For me the latter, sometimes called a “hard shell,” is a Gore-tex jacket with a hood. I just started using the hood this year and it makes a big difference. It just barely fits over my bike helmet and keeps my face and head warmer. I also wear a warm, tightly fitting hat with Gore-tex “windstopper” technology; it easily fits under my helmet.

At temperatures of 20 or above I can get by with one layer on the legs - cords, wool, a warm synthetic, or lined jeans. Two layers of socks are a good idea, and good gloves or mittens are a necessity. When it’s below 25 or so or windy, I use a synthetic fleece “turtle” or neck gaiter, which I can pull up over my face. Then, only my eyes are exposed. I’ve been thinking about getting ski goggles to help with that but haven’t done so yet.

I still dream about taking the next step in weather protection for cycling: a velomobile. Velomobiles are enclosed recumbent tricycles. They get expensive at $5000 to $12,000, unfortunately. They can get heavy, too, and some models have electric motors to provide supplementary power. Here are some useful links I’ve found on velomobiles:

• velomobiling.net (moving to velomobiling.com), the best site I’ve found on velomobiles, produced by a couple in Minneapolis, which has links to the remarkable European velomobile models, among others;
• a new velomobile called the Stormy Weather planned for production by a Montana company, Lightfoot Cycles, with a target price of $6000-7000 plus shipping;
• the VeloKit, a less expensive velomobile that adds a removable fabric-and-plastic shell to a recumbent tricycle. It costs $875 plus shipping; you also need a tricycle for this option, of course, and the VeloKit only fits certain models;
• and bluevelo, a Canadian velomobile dealer that lists prices in US dollars. They suggest putting advertising on the outside of the velomobile to help pay for it.

My daughter gets to enjoy better weather protection as she sits snug under a blanket in her enclosed trailer. Why not me too?

This entry was posted on Wednesday, December 6th, 2006 at 12:50 pm and is filed under Biking/Walking, Minnesota, Winter.