Ice! Cold!

Winter has finally arrived here in mid-Michigan (although it's not scheduled to stay very long). We had thick rutty ice on all surfaces yesterday, and today the temperature went down to single digits.

Because of the total icization, I rode the slush mobile, with its more aggressive studded tires and wider footprint. Worked beautifully, even if it rides like a tank. The new dynamo wheel works well, although the old B&M Lumotec halogen (not LED) light is pretty dim.

Now that the worst of the ruts have been cleared off the roads, I'll go back to the Trek 620, with its faster rolling (but still studded) 32s.

For warmth, I wore a pair of biking tights under my Rivendell pants. I swear I was colder than I would have been with the pants alone. Probably not true, but I have been warm in just the pants down into the low 20s. Very tight weave, slightly heavier fabric than normal nylon pants. I suppose I need a pair of wool tights to wear underneath them.

On my top (remember: 8 degrees out) I wore an old "ski skin" shirt (polyester and cotton, I think), a fleece vest, and a nylon windbreaker. Plenty warm. Balaclava and goggles on my head. I would have been better off with a slightly thicker (than my thin one) wool shirt. Perhaps adding another layer to my thin wool shirt would be better.