On Sunday, I went for a nice, if freezing ride, stopping off at Chessington Garden Centre (which has a lovely cafe) for coffee and a scone. The roads were still fairly damp from Saturday's rather dreich weather, but mostly not actually wet. I can live with damp if there's minimal mud-splash or floating diesel.
I wore my toasty velvet-lined leggings under my jeans and dug out my gore-tex jacket and winter gloves, over a polo-neck and 2 buffs, and thermal socks with winter boots, and a full face helmet, but by the time I got to the A243, my fingernails were achingly cold, and my nose was practically cryogenic (closing the visor just made things foggy) and I hadn't been able to feel my toes since Robin Hood.
But - this is why we invented the coffee stop. Whether you call it a coffee stop or comfort break, the idea is always to counteract the weather. In winter, it's a chance to curl your fingers (assuming you can make them move at all) around a mug of something hot until they thaw out, to wriggle your toes until you're sure they're still attached, to let your muscles shiver in a way you can't allow while riding, and to fill your stomach with fuel to burn to keep you warmer. It's always warmer riding after such a stop, even if the temperature has dropped or the wind picked up.
Tuesday 21 November 2017
Wednesday 1 November 2017
VENTING
So after a few storms knocking around during the week, Sunday dawned crisp and clear and chilly, and I layered up and headed out.
The wind was what's best called fitful - coming in fits and starts, gusts only, but gusting like a toddler tantrum - full force.
Now, I've had my bike for long enough to have got used to not having a screen to split the headwind and channel it past my chest and head. (I can't say I've noticed a decrease in dead bugs on my visor, whatever everyone else is reporting).
I can handle the full headwind now, and while it's tiring sometimes, it's also predictable and controllable (insofar as it's related to my speed). A gusting wind, though, buffets bike and rider unpredictably, and generally tries to push you either off the road or into the truck next to you.
It also tends to find any tiny gap or crack in your clothing and twist itself through to chill any part it can reach - up cuffs, through vents and seams, between the teeth of zips.
All of which is, I guess, precisely why we invented the Coffee Stop.
The wind was what's best called fitful - coming in fits and starts, gusts only, but gusting like a toddler tantrum - full force.
Now, I've had my bike for long enough to have got used to not having a screen to split the headwind and channel it past my chest and head. (I can't say I've noticed a decrease in dead bugs on my visor, whatever everyone else is reporting).
I can handle the full headwind now, and while it's tiring sometimes, it's also predictable and controllable (insofar as it's related to my speed). A gusting wind, though, buffets bike and rider unpredictably, and generally tries to push you either off the road or into the truck next to you.
It also tends to find any tiny gap or crack in your clothing and twist itself through to chill any part it can reach - up cuffs, through vents and seams, between the teeth of zips.
All of which is, I guess, precisely why we invented the Coffee Stop.
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| COFFEE STOP |
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