56/365: Baby, It's Cold Outside

Kate gearing up for the ride. I missed getting a photo of the duct tape on the holes in her shoe covers. She said it was quite wind resistant.

Today's high temperature was forecast to be 32 degrees. At some point, the sun was supposed to shine and it was going to be windy. I think the weather folks missed the high by a couple of degrees, but were spot on with the rest. So what would a group of bike racers do but plan an outdoor ride. In all fairness, this is not the coldest weather in which we've ridden. Last January or February, our start of ride temp was 11 one afternoon, reaching a balmy 14 by the time we were through. But, considering that was a few months ago, it's hard to re acclimate to the cold.

I don't mind riding in the cold. I've learned how to layer and I have the right equipment. It just takes so long to gear up. Let me run through what I wore yesterday, and I'll say I was a bit overdressed on top. I started with embrocation. Next was wool sock liners, topped with wool ski socks. The top half was a wool sports' bra and a long sleeved wool shirt. Next I pulled on my winter bib tights and Big Shark thermal jacket. On my hands I did PI's shine glove and AMFIB gloves. My cleats were covered by neoprene shoe covers. I pulled the hood up on my Icebreaker to protect my ears before topping with my helmet. The embrocation was probably a little over the top because I did sweat on some of our hills. But my fingers got a bit chilly at times--I want to try someone's lobsters versus my regular gloves. They're rated the same for warmth, but the girls give the lobsters higher reviews than I would give the AMFIB gloves.
Here's our group that braved the cold a few brief moments of snow flurries. We celebrated our finish with coffee and pumpkin pie! A great way to spend Sunday afternoon.