It was about -20C this morning when I set off and biked to work. Upon arrival at my office, I remembered that one of my winter cycling rules-of-thumb is not to cycle when it's colder than -18C outside. Hmm. Or rather, brrr.
This morning as I headed out the door, I was dressed as follows:
- pants and windpants (maybe should have worn long underwear instead of regular);
- cotton socks, cycling shoes, "booties" (nylon shoe-covers);
- undershirt, long-sleeve button shirt, thin wool sweater, long-sleeve polar fleece, down-filled vest, water-proof breatheable shell (yup, 6 layers);
- liner gloves, mittens; and
- face-mask, hat, bike-helmet.
I was on the whole warm enough. My feet were a little cold, but I wasn't wearing winter boots or woolen socks. The only problem were my fingers, and particularly my two thumbs. I wonder what I can do to keep my hands warmer.
Pogies seem weird and I'm not sure they'd work on the handlebars of my bike. Maybe I'll have to stick to my "no cycling when it's colder than -18C" rule of thumb. It's just that public transit in Montreal in peak-periods is hideously overcrowded, so for now I'll eschew the BMW option* as much as possible in favour of my bicycle.
* BMW: take the bus and metro to work
