Recently, on the Lewisham Cyclists Facebook group for which I’m one of the admins, there was a post about cold feet and another about good breathable waterproofs. Fairly long discussions followed with useful and helpful suggestions for how to deal with these perennial cycling problems.

There must be almost as many different products out there, to deal with the cold and wet while out riding, as there are individual cyclists. And that is a serious issue in itself. Too much stuff in our world and more being added all the time. Its a difficult balance. We need to make, produce and sell stuff, I guess to provide work and income so people can live. But we also need to produce less waste, reduce our unnecessary consumption and reuse the perfectly good stuff out there that still has plenty of wear left in it. Otherwise we won’t have lives worth living or a world worth living in. The scale of what we have done to the earth and what we need to do to put the damage right seems overwhelming, as though there’s nothing that we as individuals can do about it.

Personally, I think we can do things that will help. I’m not doing enough I know but I guess trying to do something at the very least and most selfish level just makes me feel a bit less hopeless about it all. And if there’s the slightest chance we can make a difference, then we really should try.

With regards to my cycling life, I try to consider three things

1. Can I keep using old kit I’ve got that still works for me?
2. When there is something I really need, can I purchase secondhand? Is there a secondhand product available that will do the job sufficiently well?
3. Think very carefully about that job in the first place. If it’s a job that I can live perfectly well and happy without doing, and nobody else loses out by me not doing it, then maybe it doesn’t need doing in the first place!

Once I’ve considered those three things, if buying new really is the only option, I admit I would still buy new. Waterproof clothing and underwear generally fall into this category! And sometimes footwear. Sometimes its hard to find decent walking or cycling footwear secondhand, especially.

Anyway, the point of this little post is to tell people how I deal with very cold weather when Im cycling and how I try to do it year on year, reducing the new stuff I buy, and reusing the stuff that still works as long as possible. So here we go.

I thought a useful way to do this might be to go through what I have been wearing whilst cycling up in Scotland this last week or so. On my last ride out, it was well below freezing. I dont have any bike computer any more, (a result of me applying consideration number 3 above) so not sure of exact temperature, but it was at least -7 and went below that on sections of my last rideout.

I rode up and down a beautiful glen, starting  at dawn and then to the station, maybe around 30 miles in all. In the rather bad selfie below, this is what I’m wearing:

1.a vest,

2.two t shirts

3. a merino cardigan (it’s lovely, bought it from the Inverness British Heart Foundation shop)

4. One thinner, zipped hooded fleece. This one was a Christmas present. Patagonia brand does use recycled materials to make its products and if you have to buy new outdoor kit I’d recommend finding a brand like this that does similar.

5. Another thicker fleece. This also came from an Inverness charity shop. It’s an old North Face one with a diagonal zip and one side has a kind of wrap round layer you tuck under the other side as you zip up. So effectively you get a double layer round your core. So you could say, my core was protected by 7 layers!

6. A neck warmer hand knitted for me by my daughter.

7. Two pairs of gloves, top ones an old pair of winter walking gloves, inner ones an old pair of mechanics gloves actually.

8. A pair of thinner under socks and one pair of winter walking socks.

9. FiveTen boots. These I did buy new last year. I have small feet and its often difficult to get secondhand footwear for cycling or hiking thats got a decent amount of wear left in it. I do have a pair of great DM knee high laced boots I got secondhand and do wear these cycling sometimes. They are old style, thick soles and thick leather and also keep my feet very warm. And legs.  But they’re not good for a mix of cycling and hiking.

10. A pair of ordinary tights.

11. Then the only bit of cycling specific kit, an old pair of Castelli winter cycling tights which are great, although I did remove the pad from them (hate pads).

12. Nearly forgot! A second bit of cycling specific kit actually. A winter cap. I recently lost the one I loved and had for years, a Prendas one, so did get another. They are great, come down over your ears, with a peak to keep the low winter sun out of your eyes.  You can get them second hand on ebay. The merino ones are the best I think. This one isn’t, I couldn’t find one, but it’s warm. However, any warm winter hat that covers your ears and fits close and tight enough not to get blown off your head will do. if you wear a helmet, it also has to be thin enough to fit comfortably underneath. If you already have a beanie type hat, they work well under helmets, as long as they cover the ears.

Phew! It looks like a load of stuff written out like that. But felt really comfortable on and kept me toasty warm. Luckily, there was only one climb on this ride and it was so cold I only just began to overheat at the top. The descent took care of that so I didn’t have to remove any layers. Had there been more climbs, or when I was younger and rode harder and faster, I would probably have to do a bit of removing and replacing layers, although just unzipping one or more of the fleeces would suffice.

There was no rain or snow, but if there had been, I would have removed one fleece and added

1. My old Paramo jacket, bought secondhand, ten years ago. Paramo are one of the few brands of waterproof clothing you can purchase secondhand and get something that still looks good and works just as well as when new. It also lasts ages as there is no waterproof layer that wears away. I wont go into the Paramo system in detail. You can read about it here. They also offer a repair service. Only issue, even the lightest of their stuff is a bit too warm once the temperature rises over about 10 degrees C.
2. Showers Pass waterproof trousers: these were bought new two years ago. They were expensive but two years on they show hardly any wear and I’m pretty sure they will last several more years. I decided to buy them as its really important to keep dry when you cycle in remote places for extended periods of time. If you cant rely on getting home fairly soon, removing wet clothing and having a hot shower after getting soaked through, you need to make sure you dont get soaked through if at all possible. My old waterproofs had worn through completely. The Showers pass ones also look pretty good. They have a pocket, and reinforced sections on the buttocks, which is where waterproofs wear through first through cycling. They also have reflective strips, quite a few of them. My only issue with them is, and this is common to any waterproofs produced for cycling, is that the side zips are just too short. The design assumes youll be wearing cycling specific footwear and if you wear proper boots, you cant unzip them enough to remove them over your walking boots. Its annoying, but Ive lived with it. Walking waterproofs have the longer zips, but are too thin in the seat area.
3. My old winter walking boots which are pretty much waterproof as I’ve waxed them thoroughly every year for about 15 years. The good thing about walking boots is they have thick soles. and winter ones have thick uppers too.  A lot of heat is lost through the soles of footwear and your toes on a bike are in the frontline as it were with cold air blasting over them. These boots (old Scarpas) have a really deep sole. The only time I’ve had cold wet feet in them is when I fell off into a river, and the icy water went over the top of the boot and down to my feet.        Cycling specific footwear is often pretty skimpy. Winter cycling boots are better, but expensive, and in my experience, not as durable as walking boots. Obviously, if you ride clipless, you’re limited in your choice of footwear. Another reason I dont ride clipless (Ive quite a few, but that’s probably another post!)
4. Spare gloves and socks to change into if the ones I’m wearing get too wet. I did once possess specific waterproof socks, but over time they became less effective and I have since decided not to replace. The walking boots and waterproofs over the top keep the water out, for the most part.

I arrived at the station toasty warm, from top to toe. Train was late. I also always carry a flask of hot water and instant coffee and chocolate on cold winter rides, so had a hot drink. A beautiful ride, on a beautiful morning in a place I love. Pretty near as cold as it probably gets in this country.

So, to folk wondering what kit to wear while riding in very cold weather, you may already well have what you need in your wardrobe. Layering up lighter bits of clothing underneath and adding a top layer (or more, if its really cold) thats easy to remove/unzip if you get too hot on climbs/riding fast can be done with non specific kit. If you’ve already got the stuff, you dont need to buy new.