Cycling in the snow

It was a day of odd weather here on the KS/MO border. Started out sunny and chilly, enticing me to take the bike to work. By mid-morning, there were snow flurries: at times big, fluffy flakes, and at times barely visible. For the rest of the day, though, frozen H₂O was finding its way to earth.

The corner of the windshield was the only surface that was cold enough to gather snow.

The roads were fine, though, so the bike took me to work, ClaroKC, and Le Fou Frog to dine with Sarah. Oddly, the only other time I've tested out the heated gear was also on a Tuesday...with the same serious of engagements...exactly 3 weeks ago...

Anyway...today was a great chance to test out the heated gear and the auxiliary lights. It ranged from about 35˚F or so for the ride to work to 40˚F for much excursion at lunch to right around freezing at 32˚F for the ride down Hwy 71 to get home after dark. The pant liners did well underneath my work pants throughout the day, both keeping me moderately warm on the road as well as not overly-warm at work. If it were any colder or the ride much longer, I'd want to be wearing the riding pants so as to fend off the wind. For really cold situations (Alaska and Patagonia come to mind), I'm probably going to want another layer of insulation, too.

I'm also going to want to find a better way to manage the controller for the heated gear. I draped it over the front of the seat today, but I'd like it to be someplace easily-accessible and visible. I'd also like to be able to stand on the pegs without disconnecting it from the bike. Currently thinking of a thigh strap, which would place it in a pretty ideal spot, with plenty of room for movement. They sell a holder for the controller, but I'm thinking I may be able to rig something up. We shall see.

With all gear on and auxiliary lights running, it's looking like I'm still good on power, which is great to see. The volt meter has dropped below 14V when idling at a stop, but when cruising even at 2500 RPM, it has no problem maintaining 14.5V. Still well above 12V, which is where I'd start to worry.

One other note for myself is that I'll want something to protect my neck. I'm getting a small amount of abrasion, which I think is due to the collar of the heated gear causing the neck of my riding jacket to fit just a bit too tight. When I turn my head -- particularly to the left -- it's causing some discomfort.