My first winter below 40 degrees proved challenging, and quite humbling. I didn’t know about air-activated toe warmers, much less think there was benefit to full-fledged shoe covers or face masks. My winter in Pittsburgh happened to coincide with their biggest snowstorm in something like 30 years, and it wasn’t the snow I minded, just the cold. My hands, feet and ears were of concern – and if there was a piece of skin was exposed between my sunglasses (or snowboard goggles sometimes) and my scarf; it would give me that ice cream headache feeling. And then there was the issue of hydration, because I like long rides. Even a 2 hour ride in single digit temperatures requires a lot of time to prepare for, and I found that an insulated tube hydration pak would be enough some of the time on trails, but I still needed electrolytes and to stay hydrated on my commutes.
Polar Bottle
The Polar Bottle ended up being a wise investment, that improved the overall quality of my winter riding. I even saw people using it on the Albuquerque Century, to my surprise. It kept water cool in 100 degree temperatures, too! And that made all the difference in regulating body temperature (poured down shirt). Long story short, the Polar Bottle has helped me to live through some of the hardest rides I’ve been on, to date.
