Cycling in the Northwest during winter. Some see it as crazy, others see it as a necessity, and then there are those of us who just can’t bear to give up the daily ride.
You know you need layers so you can shed and bundle as needed and you know those layers need to have various degrees of wind and water protection (lots of water protection in the Northwest), but beyond the basics, what do you need to make the winter ride more bearable and even comfortable?
As luck would have it, there are typically inexpensive items you can find in your medicine cabinet or at your pharmacy. Read on fearless winter friends.
Petroleum Jelly – Oh that gooey friend of dry skin. Swipe a layer of this on your cheeks, nose, ears, and chin and you have an instant layer of protection when the wind howls out of the Columbia Gorge. You will notice a huge difference in how warm your face stays with this simple product and the jelly protects your skin from flaking out during the dry days of winter.
Avoid putting the Jelly on your forehead or it will gunk up your helmet and if you wear glasses, don’t put it on the bridge of your nose or you’ll be fighting your spectacles the whole ride. In addition, if you don’t have shoe covers, you can get the same wind and cold protection by gooping a layer of the stuff on your feet before putting on your socks.
Menthol Rub – Vicks, Mentholatum, or any generic brand will do. Dab a little of this under your nose to keep breathing easy. This is a less expensive route than those little strips that go over your nose. (If you use the Petroleum Jelly mentioned above, they won’t stick anyway.) The menthol keeps your nose feeling open to help you breathe easier. This is especially important on those cold winter mornings that make your nose flow faster than Snoqualmie Falls.
Scarf – Besides the obvious warmth this provides, if it is painfully dry out you can hitch the scarf over your nose and mouth and “recycle” the water vapor from your exhalation. If it gets too stuffy, simply pull it down for a bit. A balaclava can provide a similar benefit, but a scarf is less expensive and more easily removed to store mid-ride if you get too warm; it does happen. Note: Be sure to brush your teeth before you ride otherwise you’ll be breathing in the scent of your breakfast for many miles.
Latex Gloves – Good for keeping your hands clean when working on your chain, but also good for a layer under your regular gloves. Even thick, bulky gloves don’t provide 100 percent wind and wet protection, but if you slip a pair of latex (or nitrile if you have allergies) gloves on under your regular gloves, you have both. The layer not only keeps the chill out, it also holds in the heat you generate.
Newspaper – Read it on the bus or commuter transit if you give up on your ride, but when you do tolerate the rain and get home with soaked shoes, newspaper is the best. Crumple a couple sheets and stuff the wads into your shoes when they’re soaked with Northwest sunshine. The paper absorbs moisture faster than air-drying alone so by morning you can do it all again. To make the process more efficient, switch out the paper after a couple hours.
Shower Cap – You knew there must be a use for those things you always get in your hotel room. Putting one of these over or under your helmet will hold in your body’s own heat and keep your head dry when it rains. These are small and light enough to store in your saddlebag for the unexpected rainstorm.
Skills and Patience – Okay, you can’t find these in your local pharmacy (unless your pharmacist is also a cycling coach), but these are very important to have in your winter arsenal. Learning to ride over mucky leaves, through snow, and in the wet takes bike-handling skills Northwest cyclists need to build if they usually only ride on dry sunny days. Take some time to work on these skills before heading out for a long ride or commute in adverse situations.
Tammie Painter is an avid cyclist in the Portland area where she lives and works. She has battled her fair share of rain, snow, and windstorms, although sometimes the crosswinds win. When not seeing how many people she can pass on the bike path she writes freelance articles and makes various attempts to get her first novel published. This is her first contribution to Outdoors NW.
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