There is a panoply of excuses we can choose from when wimping out of cold weather riding. Some of them have more validity than others – but that doesn’t mean that they can’t be overcome. I’d like to address a couple of physical limitations that can be good reasons to bow out of a cold ride, but that don’t necessarily need to stop you, especially in their milder forms.
Asthma Asthma is basically what happens when your lungs try to reject some air they don’t like by swelling their bronchial tubes and making extra mucus. This constricting of your airways can be triggered by a wide variety of things, but cold air is one possibility, along with pollution, allergies, and others. The tag “exercise induced” is applied to a slightly different kind of asthma that happens during aerobic workouts. This one is interesting in that it’s apparently more prevalent among athletes, especially those in biking and other aerobic disciplines. A study done on the 1996 Olympic participants found that many more of them (15%) had exercise induced asthma than the general population. Is this because of all the dirt and smog and pollen in the air that we athletic folks are breathing at higher rates than couch potatoes? Or is it because the medications used to treat exercise induced asthma – inhalers with corticosteroids – can also give the user a speed-like boost, and some of the research subjects may have been fibbing? Tough to say. (“Trucker speed,” or ephedrine, used to be a common asthma medication but is no longer common.)
One thing is for sure – if your doctor has prescribed an inhaler for you, even if his last name is Ferrari, bring it with you on all your rides, not just the cold ones (or Olympic competition). An asthma attach is inconvenient at best, deadly at worst, and nothing to trifle with. And a bad case of asthma might indeed be grounds for avoiding exercise in the cold air altogether – only your doctor can tell you.
My experience is with the mild kind. Riding in any weather often involves some mouth-breathing, which means the air isn’t getting filtered, warmed and humidified by your nasal passages. If the available air is cold and dry it can irritate your lungs that much more. Apparently though, it’s not so much the cold as it is the dry – another research study (where would we be without them?) found that dry, room-temperature air had just as much negative effect as cold and dry air. The solution is to breathe through a piece of fabric, so that moisture is trapped on the exhale and added back in to the air on the inhale. I like to use a Buff, because it’s thin enough that it doesn’t restrict airflow on its own and it doesn’t leave lint stuck in my teeth. (You can find some fashionable Buff options here.) I’ve also used a thin balaclava or even a bandana. I don’t cover my nose, since the trapped moisture then fogs my glasses. I’ve had two asthma-free winters so far with a good face covering, that and taking steps to keep my allergies in check.
Raynaud’s Syndrome
Just like cold air can make some people’s air passages constrict, it can make some people’s blood vessels in their fingers and toes constrict. Of course one of the healthy body’s natural responses to cold is to reduce bloodflow to the extremities to conserve heat at your core, but Raynaud’s is a peculiar kind of dramatic version of this. The typical distinguishing symptom is a pronounced skin color change from red to white to blue, along with pain and numbness. I shot the photo below on my cellphone – note the white tip of my ring finger…
Blood loss is bad, mkay, particularly when it’s cold and the flesh not being warmed properly can freeze.
This can also be a very serious condition leading to such nasty things as gangrene, so if you think you’ve seen your fingers change colors and you haven’t been fingerpainting, talk to your doctor. If one of your parents has it ask your doctor about it as well, as this condition is most likely genetic.
Since my mom has it, and I have seen some finger-colors going on, I made the appointment. There are some medications to alleviate the symptoms, but they all lower your blood pressure, and since mine is already pretty low, they were ruled out. Plus these medications – usually calcium-channel blockers – have some nasty side effects. (Interesting side note – another one of those helpful studies found that Viagra works pretty well against Raynaud’s.)
What I do is simply be careful to protect my hands and feet well when riding in the cold. Sometimes this means wearing big heavy winter stuff in the fall when nobody else is yet, but so be it. Currently I use Lake CX Zero gloves, which are sadly discontinued (but may be on closeout at a bike shop near you!), and Lake MXZ302 boots, both of which have served me well. On a day down in the low twenties or below, I’ll wear a pair of nylon stockings underneath thick wool socks for an extra degree or two of warmth. (Guys who’ve been wanting to “experiment,” here’s your chance.) My hands often get painfully cold before my feet. I’ll probably look into some good silk or wool glove liners soon. One thing that helps my hands tremendously is to make sure my wrists are also adequately covered, and not constricted by too much elastic.
Road riding is more of a challenge than mountain biking, since the speeds tend to be higher with less work, and I’m more exposed to wind. Pogies are a great invention from the far northern frozen lands to help keep your hands warm, but until recently they’ve been made exclusively for straight handlebars. Here’s an option for drop handlebars. I haven’t tried them (yet) and there may be more. The serious long-distance winter specialist types generally go with the mountain bike setup, with flat bars and pogies, as well as flat platform pedals and hiking boots – something to keep in mind if I want to tackle any truly cold days.
One thing I’ve noticed is that my finger-colors and numbness are less likely with exercise. For instance, the above photo was actually taken after sitting most of the day, while I was a passenger in a car that hadn’t warmed up yet. I haven’t found any scientific evidence to back up the exercise cure, but it makes sense, since it’s all about blood flow. It’s a catch-22 for sure – go out in the cold to prevent its effects. But getting in a proper ride sure beats a boring spin on a trainer no matter the weather.
The recently opened Museum of Mountain Bike Art & Technology (MOMBAT) preserves and chronicles the evolution of the sport of mountain biking, it’s personalities and products. The museum’s collection contains over 400 bicycles, including more than 250 mountain bikes, as well as hundreds of vintage parts and accessories and thousands of pieces of literature, including period catalogs and magazines that follow the evolution of mountain biking. MOMBAT is located within First Flight Bicycles in historic downtown Statesville, NC. Admission is free and the museum is open to the public Monday-Friday, 10-6 and Saturday, 10-5.
Actually, Jeff Archer, the museum’s curator, has been displaying his collection within First Flight Bicycles for some time, but he recently decided to pump the volume. Jeff told me: “We have been operating the ‘museum’ out of the shop and decided to make it a little more ‘formal’. Ross Shafer helped us come up with the name [MOMBAT]. We’ve also been spending a ton of time scanning catalogs and reviews for the mombat.org website plus updating the pictures of the bikes in the museum.”
Speaking of the website, kudos to Jeff and the MOMBAT gang for providing such a great online resource. The virtual bike museum has photos of vintage bikes from the likes of Amp Research, Breezer, Fat Chance, Gary Fisher, Grove Innovations, Nishiki, Potts, Salsa, Schwinn, Trimble and Yeti—to name but a few. Equally fascinating is the online parts museum, which is chock full of classic brake levers, derailleurs, pedals, shifters, stems, suspensions and much more.
For a sample of the eye candy available at mombat.org, click on the thumbs below. Click here to check out First Flight branded goodies.
Join cycling advocates, industry leaders, and retailers on March 10-12th, 2009 in Washington, DC at the National Bike Summit, as they lobby for expanding Federal support for bicycling—for active transportation and recreation. With the new congress beginning to write a new federal transportation funding bill, now is a crucial time for bicyclists to be heard.
The Summit will also include educational seminars on a wide range of bicycle advocacy topics, and will provide attendees the opportunity to network with hundreds of passionate cyclists, and meet with their congressional representatives in the halls of Congress.
IMBA members are entitled to a discounted registration rate of $275, if they take advantage of Early Bird Registration by February 5th (a $100 savings). Click here to register.
So unless you’ve acclimated yourself to Siberia, you should be realizing that it’s kinda cold outside. That means there’s an abundant supply of cold weather riding tips and tricks floating around. It should be no surprise Dirt Rag has been satisfying your queries.
Several of the staff here at Dirt Rag have already covered a lot about proper cold weather riding gear (like jackets and footwear) for the high latitude areas where the dropping mercury effects our kit choices. But what about when your face starts leaking on those frigid morning commutes?
No worries friends, I got your back. What I’ve begun to understand is that there is a constant battle to arrive at your destination without strange excrement frozen to your face.
The best way to fight any war is to know your enemy.
That snot all over your kid’s face, or yours, is actually mucus, and it’s good stuff. Mucus is a slippery secretion produced by your body to protect organs systems and your health. On normal days the liter of wonder produced is not a problem as it traps germs and particles in your nose.
Although on those frigid morning commutes, the tiny hairs called cilia in your nostrils that sweep snot to the back of your throat move about as quick as the upward interest on your 401k. So what normally gets swept to the back of your throat, ends up running down your face. On top of that, the increased blood flow in your nostrils to raise the temperature of the air we breathe leads to more mucus production. The problem only increases when you come indoors. That mucus thaws a bit and becomes thinner with warmer conditions much before your lazy cilia kick in. So have some Kleenex at your desk or in your pocket for when you get inside. Although your sleeve or fingers may work just as well, and hygiene might not be important to you, it might be important to co-workers and friends—your family hopefully likes you no matter what.
Keeping your face warm will help during the commute or ride. Since the air we are breathing is cold already, it’s tough to fight snot because the cold air cools the nostrils which in turns cools the cilia and affects the amount of snot produced. But helping to keep those cilia warm will help keep your face clean. The traditional scarf is a solid choice to keep your face and neck warm, watch out for your spokes though. It’s also likely you have one lying around which could save some coin. You could also rock a bandanna bandit style, and after you rob that bank it can double as a snot rag at the office. But then you’d have to put the dirty snot rag back on your face for the commute home.
Here at Dirt Rag we are big fans of the Original Buff from PlanetBuff.com. The seamless tubular microfiber is wondrous. It’s moisture wicking, warm, and versatile in the number of ways to wear as well as easy to care for. All the good stuff. Whether you’re looking for something for your head, neck, face, or tube-top in the summer, the buff is an excellent choice.
In my experience having a garment that warms your face and breathable is pretty important, since you have to actually breath through it. Plastic bags definitely cut the wind and are notorious for keeping our feet dry, but a plastic bag wrapped around your face probably isn’t the tool for the job—unless of course you’re bummed about the holidays.
There are some good working options that are popular with some skiers and snowboarders, and they help you look like a ninja. Neoprene facemasks are a great way to protect your face from various weather conditions and great for cold weather activities. There are several options here in terms of price-point and coverage. Some are full head that cover face and neck that will fit under your helmet. Others are simply face-masks. Both will help keep your face warm and those cilia working to shovel snot down your throat, not your face.
But when dripping is unavoidable the clutch item is on your hands. A glove with a Microfleece wiping surface on the thumb is worth its weight in gold when you can’t help a drippy face.
Snot is pretty much unavoidable in cold weather, but hopefully this at least helps you get to where you gotta go without your face being an example of our complex respiratory biology.
[Ed note: Here's a link dump for those of you who missed the prior installments in our Cold Weather Riding series: part 1, part 2, part 3, part 4, part 5.]
Philip Williamson first began submitting work for Dirt Rag Magazine in 2007. To date he’s illustrated two Table of Content Pages (issues 133 and 137), and a Last Chance for Gas (issue 129), plus submitted dozens of rough sketches for ideas.
Philip’s watercolors are light and vibrant, sometimes quirky, and always treats to enjoy. He really shines with his sculpture-though it’s a little harder to depict the impact in photographs.
Currently, he lives in McMinnville, Oregon and owns a Rivendell Quickbeam and Bontrager Privateer and likes to ride with his canine friend Chick, a half Lab, 1/4 pit bull, and 1/4 bull mastiff.
We will be featuring Philip’s work in our Artist gallery for the next few months, so click on over and check it out. And don’t forget to browse the archives of Dirt Rag’s past Featured Artists.
