How to keep your feet warm... Or at least try

 

Yeah, that's my shoe. I used gaffers tape and a bag my wife got from Gap. I Cut a piece to fit under my insole. Wrapped the toe cover in plastic and taped up all the vent holes. This plus shoe covers. I use the Pearl Izumi Mtb barrier Elites. They work well. They velcro around the back for a seamless front to maximize wind blockage

They're a tad pricey but, I knew I was going to be riding in sub zero temperatures and wanted the "best." These plus, those neoprene socks I got a few weeks ago, along with a wool type work sock, keep my feet pretty dang warm. Now, you do wool sock first. Then neoprene sock. This is something I did not know and had to research to find out. My feet usually feel wet by the end of my ride but, not cold. I'm not sure how it would fair in a longer ride situation. I'm usually only in the saddle for about 45 minutes max on my commutes so, keep that in mind. Hopefully, this keeps your feet warm.

Walmart fat bike

So, this is interesting.
 Rumor on the streets is Mongoose will be releasing a sub 300$ fat bike called the "Dolomite." Sporting a 1x7 drivetrain, threadless fork, and disc brakes. Supposed to be available Feb. 23. Now I know what you're thinking! A Walgoose? Come on! Well, the original Mongoose beast has a cult following. A cult following that has welded on their own disc mounts, v-brake mounts, who knows what else. I've seen people who've cut them in half and welded them back together to make them longer.All while laughing and having fun. I could see myself having fun on this... Especially at night during snow storms. Cruising around empty Main St.  Will it turn around your hatred for Walgooses, or fan the flames?

Changing it up

For a while now I've been telling the wife that the base layer shirts I have while effective in wicking moisture away and keeping me at temperature; I never get that comfy cozy warm feeling. I have one pair of base layer pants that have a thin felt type like inside. These work perfectly. Well, today she picked me up a shirt similar to those pants. I'm on the fence about using it tomorrow. This morning it was -1f with a -15f degree wind chill. It was cold. I remembered to wear a long John shirt over my layers and between my jacket but, failed to do that in between my pant layers. Big mistake! My legs were freezing. Tomorrow is supposed to be colder and I'm not so sure about messing with what works already. I might do a thin base, the new softer one, then my jacket and nix the long John.
Were expecting 6-12" of snow Wednesday night to Thursday plus, an inch of ice. You'd think I lived in Alaska.

YOU STINK!

Yes, you! You who ride your bike to work. Don't worry it's not so bad. There a few ways to keep the stink down.

1.It seems obvious but, wash your clothes often. I haven't used any of the "special" active wear detergent but, I have tried the home brews. Hydrogen peroxide just makes your clothes smell like hydrogen peroxide. The best thing I've found is to pre-soak in detergent before you wash. I do this maybe once a month and it helps a lot. Lot's of detergent.

2.Always air dry your clothes. Never put them in the dryer. Not only does the dryer cut down on the lifespan of the clothes but, it casts it's own stench into the clothes.

My helmet smells!
I had this with my first helmet and I'd wash the foam inserts and after a month they're worthless, right? Right. On my second helmet I wised up and started leaving it near the dehumidifier in the basement. This seems to suck out all the moisture with the stink before it has a chance to settle into the helmet pads. I've never washed the pads in my current helmet and it doesn't smell at all and I've had it for over a year.

I smell!
Well besides keeping your kit clean. Obviously, you need to keep clean. I keep a towel, cologne, deodorant, and baby wipes at the shop. You'd be amazed how refreshing a couple baby wipes feel after a ride into work on a 100 degree morning with 100% humidity.
Keep these tips in mind and you're co-workers might stop complaining about your stink sooner or later.

How Do You Carry Everything?

I only need to carry my lunch into work usually. My church is right next to where I work so, Sunday mornings I drop off a backpack full of clean clothes to last me the week and just leave it at work. I'm an electrician and as such I need a water jug, too. It works out really well. In the summer time I have an active mini-fridge that I can keep fruit, drinks, and ice packs in.
 I know other people use full racks and pannier setups. I'm glad I don't need all that. I just have a single rear rack that attaches to the seatpost of my bike. It's another hand me down from my wife's grandfather. It's plastic, and has a tiny storage spot for tire levers and a patch kit. It works and I've never had a desire to upgrade it.
 When I first started commuting to work, I used a backpack. After a while that just hurts. I have poor posture and that certainly didn't help any.
I've had different lunch box configurations over the last three years. The hardshell Igloos and the softshell Igloos. Right now I'm using a bike specific one from Avenir that I love. It's not fully waterproof though so I'll wrap it in a grocery bag if it's a raining pretty hard. I've fit a full wardrobe plus my lunch in this thing before. It's perfect for those days that are freezing in the morning but, 40s or 50s  during the right home. You can stuff your outerwear in it and not have to worry about it.  Look out how big this thing extends...{That's what she said}

This is a shot with the Thermos in the bag.

Compact mode.

It has a pocket on the outside for a water bottle. I use that for my headlight battery and hook my keys on the loop that's there. I also keep a multi-tool, spare tube,wallet, and phone all on the outer pockets. I could even have my pump strapped to it but, that's on the bike frame. It is a complete softshell. I took a hard plastic liner from another lunchbox and use that inside to keep my lunch together. The insulation isn't as thick as a normal lunch box. I'm not quite sure how it'll hold up all day sitting in a hot truck in the summer. I'll probably bring a cooler to work and transfer my lunch over in the summer. The three velcro straps hold it tight to the rack. I've never had it so much as move and I have hit some pretty serious potholes up here in the northeast.

It's got a trendy messenger bag type strap for carrying it and an assortment of loops for attaching random stuff to.

Avenir Excursion Rack-Top Bag (830 Cubic Inches)

Beautiful ride home

It's so nice to have daylight on the way home. I don't mind night riding but, there is something about being able to see your surroundings that's comforting.
The roads were really good up until I got into town. I had to ride on the sidewalk and opposite side of the road a few blocks. I even had to walk one. We're expecting another 1-6 inches and then it's supposed to turn into freezing rain.

Snow storm

So I knew there was a storm coming. It was expected to arrive right when I leave for work. When I woke up it was raining. By the time I suited up and got out the door, there was a coat of snow on the ground. I thought, "no biggie. It can't land that fast." Yeah, no. I was wrong. There was a good two to three inches on the ground by the time I reached the shop. A half hour later than normal. I fell once, walked a few hills, pushed a car out of a ditch, and couldn't see freaking anything. Between the sleet, the snow, and my glasses fogging up; it was an adventure for sure. Next time I think I should take my mountain bike to work... I am.*edit* holy smokes! How could I forget that I had three deer run out in front if me and would of been plowed over by the last one had she not have slipped on the ice. Talk about a freak out moment. Did I mention I have a terrible fear of dying by deer?

Light Em Up!

Do you need lights to commute? No...BUT! I'm a firm believer in the brighter the better mentality. I've commuted with and without and it seems that people give you more room when you're lit up. I light up at all times, day or night. I also think in the event that you would get hit. It would be hard for the offender to argue that they couldn't see you if you're lit up like the fourth of July. I use two of these attached to both chainstays on the bike. I like having the two lights close to the ground to help spread the light on the roadway. This is probably the coolest idea for a light. It's basically the same Planet Bike reflector but, it's suspended so it's always level. I have it attached to the back of my helmet and usually have it on the "constant" mode.
The great thing about the reflectors is... They're cheap. Which is a hard thing to come by in the cycling world.
I have a total of 4 battery powered reflectors rounding out the rear. One on the helmet, two on the chainstays, and one mounted to my rack. That is a green reflector I got from my wife's grandfather. I run that on "constant" mode, also. I like having some constant lights, it's supposed to help people can judge my distance.
  The roads I ride on are not lit well if at all. I live in a small city and my work is around farm land. I go from street lights to no lights in two miles. Up until last week I was just using a Serfas 500 usb headlamp. The battery on the 500 setting only lasts about 70-80 minutes. You have to charge it pretty regularly. The cord is too short to charge it on the bike so, you have to take it off of the mount every time you charge it. It's held up so far {about 6 months} but I'd imagine the mount will wear out sooner or later.
 The light does the job but, in the rain when you're competing with car headlights reflecting off of the pavement surface, it's just not enough. I leave my house at 6 am. It's dark.  I just got this little light for my Birthday...  It's a claimed 1200 lumens. It is way brighter than my Serfas 500. I now use this as my main light and the Serfas as a blinkie. The cord is long enough to stow the battery on my rear rack. Since it's an actual battery pack it lasts a good long time. I went a couple of days before I had to recharge it. It has four different settings, high, medium, low, and blinkie. The blinkie is way too fast at night. I think it would give seizures. The handlebar mount is just a thick rubber washer. It works but, could be improved on. I mount it on the underside of my handlebars and it doesn't move like it did when I had it on the top. Oh? Did I mention it's under 20$? I've only had it for a week though. Time will tell if it holds up. For 20$ though I could have five for the price of the Serfas.

I got these off Amazon for about two bucks. I don't have much faith in the quality of them but, they're cheap and I'm a gambling man. I like the idea of having a light that can be seen from the side. Although,  getting a good reflector and facing it out on each chainstay would probably be a much better idea.

bummer

See it? Yeah, there is a crack right below my cleat. These shoes from Mavic aren't even a year old yet. I have heard that Mavic has a two year warranty. My LBS were I bought them seems to think it won't be a problem. I should find out sometime this week hopefully what to do.

New Socks for cold weather

I'm super excited to try these neoprene socks out on my frigid commutes into work. I've tried everything. From wool socks to plastic bags to duct tape.{more about that later} Nothing keeps my feet comfortable. By the end of the ride my feet are freezing. Wool just doesn't do a great job of wicking away the moisture and in turn my feet get wet and cold.
I've read on Amazon reviews that these are the socks that people who run in Minnesota in the dead of winter wear. They look huge but, they fit perfect when I tried them on. Of course next week is supposed to be pretty tame temperature wise. Hopefully, I'll have another post up soon about how fantastic these are!

Seirus Innovations Neosock Black Large