5. Bicycles

October 2010: An explanation of winter bike-commuting I sent to a Californian due to move to Iowa. Expanded here a bit:

My experience is with relatively short commutes (2 miles), so clothing has not been a major issue. For a short commute, down to about -20 F with windchill, the most important thing is near-total skin coverage.

My basic winter (sub-freezing) setup is:

• Head:
• Helmet with fabric cover (no open vents)
• Wind-blocking headband to cover the ears and forehead.
• Clear ski goggles (so you can see at night, too, which comes early in winter). They really keep most of the face warm. Mine fit over my regular eyeglasses.
• When windchill is 0 or below:
  • A plain old scarf to seal the neck and direct your warm breath on to your nose and cheeks. Some people use facemasks, but covering your mouth doesn't make any sense to me. Creates all kinds of condensation problems, and unseals your goggles.
  • A helmet liner. Mine is fleece.
• Hands:
  • Some hardcore winter bike gloves. Sometimes wool glove liners in addition.
• Body:
  • Regular walking-around clothes, but maybe with a little less insulation. For me, regular work clothes plus long underwear and a medium-weight department-store jacket are fine. If windchill is below 0 F, maybe a fleece jacket inside, too. Make sure you can unzip while you ride - it's amazing how hot you can get biking in 0-degree weather.
• Feet:
  • In Madison, acceptable office winter wear includes boots. So I don't have any special shoe requirements. Just a pair of hiking boots that look fine in the office, same as my non-biking colleagues.
• Bike:
  • Generator-powered bike light. Batteries don't do well in very cold temps. Although you could invest in lithium batteries.
  • Studded tires. Practice maneuvering on some ice at the start of each season.
  • Oil your chain as often as possible.
• Attitude: You really do get used to it ... and it's often more fun than regular bike commuting (if cars aren't bothering you). Enjoy!