[*rt*]

so i carefully typed up this loooong story about how i've decided to commute into work and take advantage of the whopping $3/day reimbursement the commute alternatives program offers, and it's really cold out, and i have raynauds syndrome and my hands & feet hate riding in temps below about 50*F, blah blah blah. and then i accidentally erased the whole thing and now i'm too lazy to retype it. so the short story is i added toe warmers to my 18-layer artic expedition riding ensemble this morning (temps were hovering in the mid 20's and my ride is 12.5 miles on the road) and for the first time ever my feet were warm all the way to work. it was awesome!! toe warmers are the bomb. in fact, i think i'm going to take out stock in the company that makes them and then run out and buy every packet of them in the state of GA. well, maybe not, but they really are the bomb.

r(eally)t(oasty)

 

[pimpbot]

Second that

Except I'm a cheepskate (cheep, as in Mad Magazine Cheep) and have been using the cut off corners of plastic bags in the toes of my Sidis along with Smartwool socks. Works pretty well, but my toes move around a bit in the shoe, so I have to cinch them down extra tightyly.

I think imonna invest in some proper toe warmers.

Raynauds syndrome.... My wife has a super cold nose. Whenever it gets below 60, her nose gets painfully cold. Any relation?

 

[*rt*]

Raynauds syndrome.... My wife has a super cold nose. Whenever it gets below 60, her nose gets painfully cold. Any relation?

no, that dayNOSE syndrome. completely different.



btw, i just bought a box of 40 pair of warmers from AEbike.com. $8 cheaper than buying them at REI.

mmmm. toasty toes.

rt

 

[The SS Boz]

Ya toe warmers are the coolest? i mean warmest....

Im like pimp though in jan / feb early morning road rides i still like the plastic sandwich bag too............your foot will freakin sweat in those things.........also i use my MTB shoes on the road in the cold............the road shoes i got (even though both made by shimano) seem to feel like they got a breeze way thru them.....

 

[crashedandburned]

I hear ya. Haven't used the toe warmer ones yet as they seem to be a little hard to come by here, but have uses the square hand warmers in my shoes and that was just fine. Used my first pair this past weekend and didn't have a problem!

 

[glenzx]

Good thing you have a GOOD excuse!

Ha -50 degrees!!!!!! That's Short Sleeves Weather! Er, for us non-circulatory (?) challenged cold-weather freaks. It's been in the teens here lately - making me finally go to the gym and bust out the rollers. On a low-wind sunny day, I'm OK with 20 degrees and up, but with wind, it's got to be above freezing - and I consider THIS wimpy!

 

[forkboy]

no, that dayNOSE syndrome. completely different.



btw, i just bought a box of 40 pair of warmers from AEbike.com. $8 cheaper than buying them at REI.

mmmm. toasty toes.

rt

Smartwool socks and Neoprene booties are the way to go. I've been out in 10deg weather and still had my feet feeling nice and warm. Everything else was cold and miserable, but my feet felt great.

Headsweats under-helmet hats are real nice too. Better than the neoprene ones I've used.

-->> edit - I just noticed that I misread that - not ARM warmers - just "warmers".. ? still... 40pair?

 

[*rt*]

Ya toe warmers are the coolest? i mean warmest....

Im like pimp though in jan / feb early morning road rides i still like the plastic sandwich bag too............your foot will freakin sweat in those things.........also i use my MTB shoes on the road in the cold............the road shoes i got (even though both made by shimano) seem to feel like they got a breeze way thru them.....

my fear with plastic bags is that my feet will get so hot that my socks will end up wet and then my feet will get cold because they're wet (if that makes any sense). that said, plastic bags from a variety of gas station convenience stores have saved my toes several times on unexpectedly cold rides.

rt

 

[*rt*]

What the heck are you going to do with 40 pairs of armwarmers? Outfit all the Hindu gods?

Smartwool socks and Neoprene booties are the way to go. I've been out in 10deg weather and still had my feet feeling nice and warm. Everything else was cold and miserable, but my feet felt great.

Headsweats under-helmet hats are real nice too. Better than the neoprene ones I've used.

LOL! hindu gods get cold too you know. besides, i have skinny legs i can use 20 pair as leg warmers.

never had any luck with neoprene booties. my toes still freeze.

yeah, i just discovered the wonders of ear warmer headbands. wore mine today and my ears were as toasty as my toes.

rt

 

[*rt*]

I hear ya. Haven't used the toe warmer ones yet as they seem to be a little hard to come by here, but have uses the square hand warmers in my shoes and that was just fine. Used my first pair this past weekend and didn't have a problem!

i actually put the warmers on top of the toe of my shoe between the shoe & my bootie. i don't have room for anything but my insole, sock, and foot inside my shoe. worked like a charm.

you can get the foot ones online at AEbike.com. or i found them here at REI.

rt

 

[KRob]

-->> edit - I just noticed that I misread that - not ARM warmers - just "warmers".. ? still... 40pair?

I think she's talking about the non-reusable chemical toe warmers that you put in your shoes to keep your toes warm. $8 for 40 pair of those is a good deal. I think they're something over $1 a pair at my local sporting goods store.

I'm also a fan of the smart wool socks and full coverage neoprene booties. I got the inulated ones from Performance and I've been toasty down to low single digits.

I also like the little neoprende toe booties that just fit over the tips of your shoes for more reasonable temps (25-35), but be warned.... they fall off sometimes when you unclip. So at $8 a pair they can get expensive if you lose too many of them.

K(warm toes)Rob

 

[*rt*]

i've been sissified since moving south...

Ha -50 degrees!!!!!! That's Short Sleeves Weather! Er, for us non-circulatory (?) challenged cold-weather freaks. It's been in the teens here lately - making me finally go to the gym and bust out the rollers. On a low-wind sunny day, I'm OK with 20 degrees and up, but with wind, it's got to be above freezing - and I consider THIS wimpy!

i used to think that there was no reason to complain as long as the high for the day was over 25. now i've lived in the sissySouth for too long and it's tough to get me out the door if the temps are below about 35. besides, it's a damp 25 here. none of those dry temps you guys have. yeah, that's my story and i'm sticking to it. it's all the humidity. right.

actually, 50 is nice riding weather. 20, on the other hand, not so nice. and i'll ride trails more happily in 20* than road. on the road 20* should only be seen from a car.

rt

 

[forkboy]

LOL! hindu gods get cold too you know. besides, i have skinny legs i can use 20 pair as leg warmers.

never had any luck with neoprene booties. my toes still freeze.

yeah, i just discovered the wonders of ear warmer headbands. wore mine today and my ears were as toasty as my toes.

rt

Hah - you're talking about these

<img src=https://aebike.com/site/images/library/catalogs/soc/prodl/SH7002.jpg>

NOT talking about

<img src=https://aebike.com/site/images/library/catalogs/soc/prodl/CL1257.jpg>

You can see my confusion

Our high here yesterday was the mid 20's. It was 3 degrees this morning.... I haven't been on a bike in 3 weeks.
I just sit around watching TV and eating pie.

 

[*rt*]

I think she's talking about the non-reusable chemical toe warmers that you put in your shoes to keep your toes warm. $8 for 40 pair of those is a good deal. I think they're something over $1 a pair at my local sporting goods store.

I'm also a fan of the smart wool socks and full coverage neoprene booties. I got the inulated ones from Performance and I've been toasty down to low single digits.

I also like the little neoprende toe booties that just fit over the tips of your shoes for more reasonable temps (25-35), but be warned.... they fall off sometimes when you unclip. So at $8 a pair they can get expensive if you lose too many of them.

K(warm toes)Rob

LOL! not $8 for 40 pair! i wish they were that cheap. rather i saved $8 over buying 40 pair from REI which works out to $1.50/pair rather than $1.80 (at REI). havent' seen them any cheaper than REI around here.

i'll have to try the smartwool socks. everyone swears by them but i have trouble with wool against my skin. makes me itch.

i had on the full giordana windproof lightly fleece lined bootie this morning. i've also got the toe covers but use them for much warmer weather.

rt

 

[forkboy]

i'll have to try the smartwool socks. everyone swears by them but i have trouble with wool against my skin. makes me itch.

rt

Smartwool is Merino wool - not regular sheep wool.

The merino is apparently some magical breed of sheep from NZ that doesn't itch. Kind of like the Unicorn of the sheep family...

<img src=https://www.ansi.okstate.edu/breeds/sheep/delainemerino/DELMERIO.JPG>

They are the only socks worth buying. I wear them year-round for road cycling.

 

[*rt*]

...You can see my confusion

Our high here yesterday was the mid 20's. It was 3 degrees this morning.... I haven't been on a bike in 3 weeks.
I just sit around watching TV and eating pie.

ah, now we are on the same page.

brrr. 3 degrees would drive me onto the couch indefinately.

rt

 

[*rt*]

Smartwool is Merino wool - not regular sheep wool.

The merino is apparently some magical breed of sheep from NZ that doesn't itch. Kind of like the Unicorn of the sheep family...

<img src=https://www.ansi.okstate.edu/breeds/sheep/delainemerino/DELMERIO.JPG>

They are the only socks worth buying. I wear them year-round for road cycling.

doesn't matter to my skin. i can't even wear cashmere next to my skin because it itches.

rt - baa

 

[KRob]

.....which works out to $1.50/pair

Whoops. Misread that one. LOL.

So your $3/day alternative commute reimbursement is now down to $1.50. Well.... at least on the cold days. Still pays bigger dividends in the end methinks.

 

[ArmySlowRdr]

dam pesky control key--at least I think that's the key-- occasionally I type up a long diatribe and get to moving fast with my 3 finger typing style --and I do think that's the key I hit--and everything is gone. It is even worse when using a laptop.

uggh, in TX I used to hate 40s, now moving from Hawaii in February and I bet i hate the temps wherever I end up.

so i carefully typed up this loooong story about how i've decided to commute into work and take advantage of the whopping $3/day reimbursement the commute alternatives program offers, and it's really cold out, and i have raynauds syndrome and my hands & feet hate riding in temps below about 50*F, blah blah blah. and then i accidentally erased the whole thing and now i'm too lazy to retype it. so the short story is i added toe warmers to my 18-layer artic expedition riding ensemble this morning (temps were hovering in the mid 20's and my ride is 12.5 miles on the road) and for the first time ever my feet were warm all the way to work. it was awesome!! toe warmers are the bomb. in fact, i think i'm going to take out stock in the company that makes them and then run out and buy every packet of them in the state of GA. well, maybe not, but they really are the bomb.

r(eally)t(oasty)

 

[radair]

a friend swears by (empty) chip bags on the feet. doritos on the left, cooler ranch on the right, i think. i'm more of a baked barbeque kinda guy.

i love riding in cool temps - on mountain bikes. our ride sunday was around 30*, just perfect for a sweat-free, minimal stoppage kind of ride.

if the gubamint reads that you're really toasted, you might lose yer job....