Thursday, December 16, 2010

Riding in the winter. Here's what you need.

To ride in the winter, here's what you need: studded tires, windproof coat and pants, merino wool baselayer, warm gloves, hat and socks. Easy.

Winter tires. Carbide steel studded Marathon Winter tires. Manufactured by Schwalbe.  Great tires.  They grip icy, snowy slippery streets.  Keep you riding safely all year around.  Don't yield the streets and the bike lanes back to the cars.  Worth every penny.  They fit most mountain, touring and hybrid bikes.

Get them.  Contact me.  I've got them.  And I'll give you the best price simply so you can keep riding all year around.

If it's cold fingers, toes and nose that's getting you down, you need:

- Warm hat: North Face or Outdoor Research micro-fleece polar-tech, windproof hat.
- Icebreaker merino wool balaklava -- get the 200 weight.

Warm gloves: Outdoor Research windproof, insulated gloves.

Warm socks: Icebreaker or Smartwool socks made for winter trekking or climbing.  A thick wool sock is a good sock.

Do you need an easy way to stay warm while wearing your normal office clothes?  Get a good Gortex rain/wind jacket and rain/wind pants to wear as an outer layer (and keep your office clothes clean).  Since it's often the windchill that makes you cold on a bike, a windproof outer layer does miracles.

If you're still not warm enough, get Icebreaker merino wool 150-weight tops and bottoms (base layer) to wear under your clothes.  Merino is an amazing fabric.  It's comfortable and won't cause you to boil while sitting around your office, but it'll keep you warm on the bike, esp. when you put on your windproof outer layer.

For all these things, contact Tents and Trails (NYC), Moosejaw (Mich.) or Eastern Mountain Sports (NYC)

P.S. Icebreaker is expensive, but worth every penny.  It has saved my life -- no joke -- and it'll certainly save your bumm from freezing.

Best,
Robert
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Robert Matson
New York City Recumbent Supply (TM)
The Innovation Works, Inc.
copyright 2010 Robert Matson

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