October 30, 2006

Brick Tamland would be proud

I'm a little embarrassed to admit that I recently bought a "Wireless Forecast Projection Station" -i.e., an indoor/outdoor thermometer/weather forecasting dual alarm clock that projects the time and outdoor temperature on the ceiling. I've been wanting a projection alarm clock for a while now, and I found this one for half price at SierraTradingPost.com. So I finally set up my new clock yesterday, and I love this thing.

One of the reasons I wanted one of these fancy weather stations is because I'm terrible at dressing for those weekly weekend group rides - doesn't matter if it's spring, summer, fall, or winter - I never seem to dress appropriately. So now when I wake up in the morning, I'll know exactly what the temperature is and I'm hoping that will help me figure out how to dress for riding. Of course, the obvious major flaw in this plan is the fact that when it's less than 20 degrees outside in winter, I'll know before I even get out of bed...which will make it extra difficult to get out of bed and motivate myself to go ride. This leads me to my next issue - finding good winter cycling clothing. Over the past few winters, I've found a few pieces of winter cycling clothing that have significantly improved my winter riding experiences - Craft windstopper tights, Louis Garneau lobster gloves; and a super warm Velo Bella winter jacket. I have some Castelli booties (that I use with toe warmer packets), but I don't think they're that great - I'm looking for something that will keep my feet a little warmer. I'm also looking for some medium-weight bib tights - the kind of tights you can wear this time of year. My Craft tights are awesome, but they're too warm to wear in the 30 - 50 degree weather. Suggestions? Favorite booties and bib tights? Any other cold weather gear that a cyclist in MN can't be without? Bring it.

10 comments:

(dis)pencer said...

oh jesus. a link to the WCP site...

you should just get some of the lake winter boots. they are awesome.

Strats said...

If it makes you feel better (or worse?), I didn't get my Craft tights from WCP.

I'd like the Lake boots, but (a) they're super expensive, and (b) they're men's sizing (which tend to not fit my feminine feet).

(dis)pencer said...

a decent pair of booties will run you $60... thats halfway to the lakes, and half as toasty.

(dis)pencer said...

shit.

i keep think of the lakes price "at cost"...

so maybe it's not quite halfway there...

Angie said...

I too have been looking at a weather alarm clock. I think it's a must for condo living!

The new Hoiggards might be worth checking out. I stopped in recently, and they seem to have a pretty good selection of tights and that sort of thing.

Angie

Strats said...

The atomic time and date function is also pretty sweet...no need to ever set the time or date.

I'll check Hoigaards out...I've gotten a lot of my Craft base layers there.

Eclectchick said...

Sa-weet! Something to ask Santa for.

Skibby said...

I ride nekkid...

Anonymous said...

S,
I am a newbie to winter (sub 32 is winter to me) but I like my Craft neopreney type booties. They "Wick" (what a good word) the water off my shoes and they are not too warm at all.
AmFib gloves yes. my hands still get cold but blame mom and bad circulation on that.
Swix are key, cheap and you can use them for XC skiing.
Of course my best winter riding tip is to go swim and then take a hottub/steam...bathing suit biking in my head each flip turn = a corner.
J

Anonymous said...

Stratton, the Steger Mukluks are supposed to be pretty warm:
http://www.mukluks.com/

I'm saving up for a pair myself.