TOASTY WARM AT 1°F!

After a couple of rides this winter resulted in painfully cold fingers and toes, I was determined last night to come up with a solution for this morning's commute - forecasted to be my coldest this season.

Warm feet... no problem. It was as simple as finding my insulated duck boots in the basement and re-lacing them. I was more concerned about my fingers. I've had this concept stuck in my head since I began riding in cold weather that I NEED to wear 5-finger gloves or lobster gloves (two fingers, two fingers, thumb) rather than mitts (four fingers snugly together, thumb separated) so that I can effectively shift and brake. This morning, I decided that I would wear mitts anyway - and I would just deal with the awkward shifting and braking I was sure would ensue.

I was surprised to find that it was no problem at all to shift and brake wearing mitts, and my hands were WARM! I can't believe I'm halfway through my second Vermont winter on a bike, and I'm just figuring this out now.

Several of my co-workers expressed surprise that I biked in today, but with my current set-up, I feel like I could ride in much colder weather. I'm actually wishing for one really cold morning (i.e. -10°F or colder) so that I can truly test the reasonable boundaries of my winter commute.