- Here in New England, where we call home,
we get a lot of snow and ice and very cold temperatures.
So we have to become creative, over the years,
about how do we go outside and ride our bikes.
There's fat bikes, there's cross-country skiing,
there's all kinds of things to stay in shape,
but we love riding our regular bikes.
So we're at our gravel bikes with big tires.
We get out there in the snow and in the ice.
So today's video, going to tell you guys some tips
on what I do in case we get into some trouble,
and what I do just to stay warm while I'm out training here
in this nasty cold weather.
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The only thing that I like to change on my gravel setup
from when I'm out riding regularly
to when I'm out riding in the winter
is I'd usually take the tire pressure way down.
We see a lot of snow, pack down snow, ice,
sometimes ice gravel mixtures,
and basically the only thing that I can really recommend
is either studded tires or really, really low pressure.
I typically ride really low pressure.
It also slows you down.
You don't want to be going super fast
like you where riding a road bike,
that's not the thing that you want to do in the winter time
because it's so cold.
You want to to bring that speed down,
you want to to bring that core temperature, nice regulated.
I'm going to show you guys some ways
that I like to do that out on the road.
One of the things that we encounter a lot about here is ice.
It's slippery and it will send you all over the place.
That's what I was saying I always bring
my tire pressure super low
to get that big contact patch on the ground.
When I'm climbing on ice it's not as much of a fear of mine
of falling over because I've got my weight far back,
I've got that low tire pressure
and I'm able to get traction and get up stuff.
It's when I'm going down hill on ice
that I'm mostly sketched out.
I want to to be really careful.
This would be a time if you're going to do
a lot of riding in the ice
that I would recommend having studded tires
because that's going to give you the most amount of confidence
in tread when you're out on nasty slippery conditions.
The only thing I can recommend
is if you're going to be going downhill, go slow.
If you do fall it will definitely minimize
any injury that you get
and then get your weight really far back
and get a nice low center of gravity
with your hands on the controls.
You don't want to be grabbing a lot of brake
because that will slide you out.
Just stay nice, in control,
constant modulation on the brakes,
keep your weight nice and far back and your head up.
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So two things that I like to do
when I'm out riding in the cold weather,
you've got your big tires on, got your studs, whatever,
you're going nice and slow.
On the climbs though it's real convenient
to regulate your body temperature
by just unzipping your jacket,
that last layer, as big as you can
and then I like pulling off my gloves.
You don't even really have to take your hands
completely off the bars, you just want to make sure
that you're able to regulate that body temp.
You don't want to get everything all clammy and nasty,
over sweating them.
It's all about body temperature regulation
in the cold stuff.
So I usually just tuck my gloves
right under my jersey there, under that thermal,
leave those there.
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(sighs) And at the top of the big climb,
if your skilled you can do bit while you're riding.
But if you're just getting into cycling, just stop,
zip your jacket up, put your gloves back on
and continue on.
So even though you're not going super hard when you're out
on these cold gravel rides,
and you're definitely not going very fast,
just like hydration you want to to make sure
that you're eating something
because got to eat the same way that you would
any other time.
Even though you're cold
and things aren't going as fast as they normally do
having a bar, some gels, banana, peanut butter and jelly,
all that stuff applies even when it's cold out.
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One of the things that happens a lot of times
when you're riding out in the cold weather,
you forget to drink water.
And one of other really bad things that happens
when you're out in the cold,
is that your water bottles freeze.
So there's two ways to mitigate that.
One, you can take this,
you can stick it underneath your jacket,
put it on your back to stay nice and warm there
so that it doesn't freeze.
And, two, you can get up set of insulated bottles,
put some warm water in them with some tea or some honey,
something like that, so you've got some warm fluids,
so you constantly drinking.
I'd say keep it a little sweet, maybe some pineapple juice,
or some honey and tea.
That way you're constantly wanting to drink.
The biggest thing about riding in the winter
is that you still sweat a lot, you're just mitigating it
through doing these different techniques.
So you don't get super cold
from the evaporation of the water on your skin,
getting cold with the cold air.
So definitely think about hydration and nutrition
when you're out riding in the cold,
even though you're going slower
it doesn't mean that you're not sweating.
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And I've got a couple of things that I always bring with me
in case of an emergency.
The first thing is what I like to call this little pack.
This packs got pretty much everything you could want in it.
It's got a neck gaiter, so that I can put that over,
keep all this nice and warm and my vocal cords.
I've got my pump that I tuck in there
and I kind of wrap in there nice and neat.
So that stays in there.
Then when I open this up, this is a thermal vest
that I throw right over on the top.
I've got these charcoal hand warmers,
they're activated by air.
And I put these in my gloves
and I'll put these in the front of my toes
and I'll show you guys that in a second, how I do that.
That adds a lot of warmth right back into the system.
So always keep those in emergency.
Then I have what I like to call, the bank robber mask.
This really, if it starts to sleet or snow
or I get some precip, that is really essential.
Keeps your face super warm and adds a lot of
warmth back into your body.
And then a second pair of gloves.
If I sweat too much and I've not been able to mitigate it
then at that point I've just say, okay,
I'm going to use my second pair of gloves
and that's going to allow me to keep my hands nice and warm
because sometimes once the gloves get sweat in them,
it's over you got to put them in your back pocket,
dry 'em and use them another day.
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One of the tips that I really like to do
is I like to wear to shoe covers.
One, one of these cotton under, kind of right over,
just a nice cover that you typically would wear
in the spring or in the summer
when it starts to get a little cooler.
Then I take one of these charcoal packets that we got,
I put it on top, I lay it over my toes.
Sometimes I'll even put it right in the shoe there,
but then I just put this right over the top
and that gives me a lot of warmth right in the toes
because getting that blood flow down to those little areas
is not easy and especially when it's cold out.
But I wear two for a couple of reasons.
One, I feel like that layer sucks up
a little bit of the sweat that goes on in your foot
and down in that area, and, two, it breaks off the wind.
So when the winds coming and hitting the front of your feet
having just that extra layer there adds a bit of relief,
I would say, from the wind
and also it gives you a little bit more protection.
You put the cold pack in there.
Primo. (sighs)
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So those are my favorite tips on how to get out in the cold,
in New England, and look like a bank robber.
All jokes aside though, I have to say,
my bank robber mask doesn't come out very often,
but when it does it is a beautiful day of riding
and it's super cold and I'm always so happy
that I was able to get out there.
It's a nice time to ride when the
roads are all covered in snow
and you're out there with your low pressure
and going nice and slow.
You're not even that far away from the house,
but getting in nice hours out there on the bike.
Most people are skiing and doing their thing,
but you're out there enjoying some gravel riding
and staying warm at the same time.
If you guys enjoyed this video
definitely give it a thumbs up.
Leave us a comment below, let me know what you wear.
What's your go-to items when you're out there in the cold
and nasty stuff if you're from a cold climate?
I'd love to know what your coldest ride is
and what your go-tos are.
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