Team Training Day 2

Baby, it’s cold outside.

This past Saturday we rode again at Texas Motor Speedway and, man, was it cold! When we started riding it was 38 degrees with a wind chill of much, much colder than that. We rode 15 miles and while my cardio endurance could take it just fine my fingers and toes were about to fall off at the end of it. When my mentor called me the night before and reminded me to bring gloves. I thought “Sure, I’ve got my cycling gloves” Well, this is a learning process for me. When the weather is going to be cold, it is a good idea to bring a pair of gloves that can be worn over your cycling gloves so that your fingers are not exposed.

I learned a couple of other tips from my teammates about how to improvise for cycling in cold weather. One has to do with keeping your feet warm. Since cycling shoes are designed to let your feet breathe, when you are riding in cold weather your feet can very quickly turn into icicles. There are a couple of inexpensive things you can do to stay warm. One thing you can do is take a plastic bag that you get from the grocery store’s produce section and wrap it around your foot and then put your foot into your shoe. The second thing, which I will try this coming Saturday, is to take some old tube socks and cut out the bottoms so that your cleats are exposed. Then, slip the tube socks over your shoes. This will help keep some of the draft out of your shoes and will also add an extra layer of warmth around your calves. Plus, you’ll look like a rockstar.

….It just so happens that I have a nice new pack of tube socks that we bought for Daniel’s Halloween costume this year. He was Flavor Flav. What a site that was…