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Top 20 Tips When Riding in Chicago, in January, Outside

Went for a ride the other day.  Left the house at 8 a.m.  There were flurries, a breeze, lots of lake clouds, and intermittent beams of sunshine.  Temp was around 18 or 19 degrees.  Here's how I did it -how I stayed warm that is.

1. Wake up at 6:30.  Do your business in the bathroom.
2. Eat a big bowl of cereal, drink 4 oz of H2O, 4 oz of strong coffee.  Digestion gets the metabolism going, which means burning fuel, which means a bit of extra warmth.
3. Get naked.
4. Apply chamois cream, pull on regular summer bib shorts, pull over long-sleeve synthetic base layer top. (bib straps over top)
5. Pull up leg warmers over regular bibs.
6. Make sure bike is in good order, fill one small bottle half way, organize everything you take with you on the ride.  Make sure socks and shoes are all ready to go.
7. Drink a little more coffee, keep an eye on the time. (Resist temptation to put on socks!)
8. At 7:30, pull on winter cycling bibs over leg warmers.
9. Put long sleeve cycling jersey on over top base layer. (jersey over winter bib straps)
10. Now, it's getting close to when you want to leave.  Put on your socks.  You should wait until the last minute because you don't want your feet to sweat.  Since you know where all your gear is, you won't need to run around and or risk stepping in a drop or puddle of water.  The point here is to make sure your feet stay dry until you leave.  Once you wrap them up, you gotta go.  If your feet are wet when you leave, and it is 18 degrees outside, you're doomed.
11. Put on shoes, leave buckles loose so you can wiggle your toes while clipped in.  This keeps blood flowing.  Wiggle wiggle wiggle.  Do it when they're warm.  Don't wait.
12. Put thin, spandex shoe covers over shoes.
13. Put neoprene covers over the whole foot works.  Don't wrap your feet too tight.  A restriction in blood flow will cause numbness and perhaps frost bite.  Remember your feet catch tons of wind.  Don't want your blood crystallizing.
14. Pull on synthetic balaclava.
15. Put on winter riding jacket, place H2O bottle in back pocket, not in bottle cage.  It'll freeze.
16. Hat goes over balaclava.  Figure out how your glasses fit best.
17. Helmet over hat.
18. Use light weight gloves, then put on fleece gloves.
19. The lobster gloves go over both lighter gloves.  Keep your fingers moving.  Press the bars with finger tips, squeeze the bars, wiggle wiggle wiggle.  Don't wait until they are numb.
20. Ooops, hopefully you peed somewhere around number 11.

Layer up, keep your feet dry, and grab a handful of good attitude! Have a good ride!

Workout of the Week

It's hard to beat the xXx paceline we had going from Fort Sheridan to Kennilworth, but today earns the Workout of the Week:

Two Hour Tempo Ride
Blustery, wet day.  Clouds and showers.  Winds at 17 miles per hour out the of the southwest.  Perfect.
I warmed up until the lakefront path and then hit it, keeping my heart rate between 75 and 85 percent (which for me is 149 - 168 bpm).  Rode into the wind heading south and was able to keep my speed around 17-18 since I was still fresh.  Still some ice out there too, especially by Fullerton and Oak Street.  I drilled it through the muddy water on the footpath above by Fullerton.  Glad I put those fenders on!  Rode to the Cultural Center, ate some sugar, then hammered back north averaging around 20 mph.  At the end of two hours, my heart rate averaged out to 81 percent or 161 bpm.  Double Ouch!  After one and a half, I felt pretty tired.  Speed only came out to 17, thanks to the wind and cool down, but I did zip off 36 miles after a loop north of Belmont.  Burned 1324 calories.