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.
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