Baby It’s Cold Outside, Whats Your Winter Gear Setup?

Written by Boston Biker on Jan 19

Its chilly today, according to weather.com it was 17 today in Boston, and 16 today in Cambridge for the ride in (its 14 in Nome Alaska). Which does nothing to explain why I saw double the number of cyclists in Cambridge than I did in Boston…but that is another blog post. People often will ask me around work, or in my personal life “You cycle…every day…EVEN IN THE WINTER!?!” And I say, “Yea.” That is usually the end, but a couple brave souls will inquire about clothing options for winter cycling so I thought I would just tell you what I wear all winter.

Starting at the top and working down I am bundled this way:

Head:
Helmet
Wool Hat
Cycling Hat
Scarf (if below 20)

Body:
Long sleeve shirt
Short sleeve shirt
First cotton/poly hoody
Second cotton/poly hoody

Hands:
Old thinsulate gloves stuffed into cheapo finger mitten gloves

Legs:
Boxers
Runners spandex pants
Jeans

Feet:
Wool socks
Vans

For bad weather (aka slush/rain/wet snow) I add the following
Rain Coat
Rain Pants
Plastic bag between socks and vans
Second pair of shoes if its going to be really nasty (just easier to change shoes when I get to work)

Thats it, no special high tech parka with electronic hand warmers, I find this set up allows for great flexibility and great layering options, it keeps me warm until about -10 and then at that point will keep me warm enough to get home.

Whats your winter set up, what clothing keeps you going all winter?

Tags: cheapo, clothing, video, winter cycling
Posted in Commuting | 18 Comments »