About to Break: are You Prepared for Cold?

"But you live in Florida!" Is the response I always get, each season when conversations regarding cold-weather cycling clothes come around. However, talk to any serious athlete and they would tell you the key to staving off injury and ensuring a healthy expenditure of energy is treating your body right and giving it what it needs. This might not always be what your head convinces you is the best plan of action.

Don't Trust the Weather Man

While all the apps in the world might project the temperature for the morning ride to be 65F, they are not calculating any wind chill from you moving on your bike. Just because you roll your bike out and aren't shivering doesn't mean you are experiencing the actual temperature while riding. Through the colder months it takes experience and listening to your body to know the best way to compensate.

Head, Shoulders, Knees and Toes 

There are several major places on a cyclists body that can be negatively effected by cold weather riding. Your joints can be negatively effected by the cold, even if your mind tells you it is not cold out. High-stress joints, such as one's patella area (knee cap) do not have much blood flow and take longer to warm up. So even if your core, quads and glutes are feeling great, you could still be adding stress on your body because of how far behind your knee cap is in the warm up process.

In fact, a good rule of thumb is "70 degrees, cover your knees." Don't believe me? Think this is ridiculous? Well let me throw some science at you! The patella tendon goes right over the knee cap. Because of the lack of blood flow and the poor positioning in the wind, it is naturally very tight in the wind and feels much colder due to the wind chill factor. Tendons are like rubber bands, ever stretched a cold rubber band? it doesn't. 

Also, the vastus medialis is a large muscle just under the inner side of the quads. Because of it's angle of connection to the knee cap joint the vastus medialis is crucial in a healthy knee tracking. Because of its size it takes a long time even in optimum weather conditions to warm up, and even longer in the cold. Until it is warmed up, your knee will not be tracking in a healthy rotation. 

Not Too Hot, Not Too Cold

Luckily for us cyclists, there are tons of different weights, wind protections, and body part specific coverings for cold weather riding. This allows everybody to find the exact combination that fits them in all chilly situations.

Arm, Leg & knee Warmers
A very easy way to make sure you are not hurting your body but still be comfortable is using leg, knee or arm warmers. These items are often wind proof and only cover the rider's limbs. This allows you to change your clothing with the weather. All these items are small enough to take off and put in a back pocket. They also provide no warmth to the core, which is often the last part of the body to need help in cold situations.
A great example of these type of products are the Gore Oxygen SC knee warmers. With Windstopper technology they are able to allow the knees to warm up without unnecessary insulation.

Wind Jackets & Vests

A great way to check if you are appropriately protected is if you are cold standing still but warm while riding. Because a rider's body is heating up, there is not a lot of insulation needed, the main focus is stopping the wind from cooling down the body too much.
Wind jackets, like the Cannondale Morphis jacket are perfect for this function. Not only do they provide complete wind protection to the upper body, but the magnetic sleeves detach to become a vest. This allows the body to cool down, because nobody likes being too hot.

Ear Coverings
Everybody is different but for me, my ears are one of the first parts of my body to become uncomfortably cold. It starts a chain reaction, first my ears get cold, then my head starts to hurt, then I curse the excellent ventilation of my helmet, then the ride is no fun. If you've ever been there, you want to look into something to cover your ears. Gore's Bike Headband is a great example of finding warmth without fighting a beanie into your helmet!

Gloves
These items are often overlooked in importance of fighting cold. It is an easy step, many companies provide the same level of padding as their warm weather options in a full finger style. Gloves should be one of the first steps in covering up. When it comes to shifting and braking, fingers that are slowed and stiff due to cold do not work. The Giro Gilman gloves are a great option for cold in the great state of Florida. A insulated covering is not always necessary. Often times it only takes a barrier.

Booties
While your upper body is being hit by wind, your feet are actually being hit by three fronts: wind, and rotational wind from pedaling as well as any water from wet roads or puddles. To make sure you do not throw your very expensive, very ventilated road shoes in anger towards your purple toes, try out some bootie coverings. This allows the fit of your shoes to stay the same but adds wind/water resistance on the outside of the shoe. Pearl Izumi Elite Toe Covers (we call them 'booties' because it's way more fun) are a great example of how to keep your toes as happy as you are on the bike!

Everybody is different when it comes to cold weather riding. Starting the learning process in Florida is a great location due to its timid temperatures when it comes to our "winter." No matter what, don't let the cold dictate your off season. Winter months can be the most enjoyable season for cycling and add yet another facet of how you love riding.  Get educated, get equipped and get riding!

Fun in the Sun

The time has come again, and it seems we are always surprised. Florida summers are other-worldly. If you ever wanted to see what an ant feels like under a magnifying glass, go out on a ride, in Florida, this time of year, with no sun protection. But don't let the heat stop you from getting on the bike. To fend off the giant magnifying glass, here are a few steps that will ensure you have fun and stay cool!

Water is Your Friend!
Step one in your quest for outdoor ability is drinking at least double the amount of water you normally take on a ride. So drink and do it often. A good rule of thumb is that if you are thirsty, or thinking you could use a drink, you should have had a drink twenty minutes ago!

The Camelbak Podium Chill bottle is great for keeping your water cool and refreshing. For more info on the Podium, click here

Up the Electrolytes
When you sweat, it's not just water pouring out your body but electrolytes and sodium. Ignore this loss and you might as well not drink any water. Use an electrolyte/sodium-rich mix to make sure you are adequately supporting your body.
A great tool to make sure you are supplying your body with what you need is the EFS Sports Drink. For more info, click here

Don't Push It
Take more brakes and keep an eye out for shade. Remember, the body can only replenish an average of 1/3 the expended vitamins and minerals. Take frequent stops and forget about keeping your legs warmed up. Give your body time to catch up. If you are the kind of person that prefers not to listen to your body and power through situations until it's too late to recover, wear a heart rate monitor. This way you can ignore your body but listen to the watch!
The Polar FT7 is an accurate and affordable heart rate system. For more info, click here

Protect Yourself
Covering your body is becoming more and more a requirement over a preference. The more we learn about skin cancers and keeping your body healthy, sun screen doesn't always do the required work. Sun protective  garments can be the difference between a successful ride, and going home in an ambulance.
Pearl Izumi makes a great line of sun protective gear that breathes, wicks away sweat and protects from the sun. For more info, click here

Change Up your Schedule
Now that the climate has changed, your riding times may need to change as well. Early mornings and later in the night are great times to ride before it gets hot or after it has already cooled down. You may find that changing the time will give you a whole new riding experience!

There's Always the Trainer
If you have tried to get out and just can't seem to beat the heat, you may want to look for a good trainer. It is not as exhilarating as riding your favorite trail, but it is better than ignoring your bike! Plus there are training video programs that could set you up to impress everyone when you do get back on the road. Check out The Sufferfest that puts you right in the thick of actual pro races!
Blackburn's Tech Fluid is a solid trainer that fits just about any style bike! For more info, click here