Most probably don't think 41F is cold, especially for November. I wouldn't either, except that we've had some very warm weather all the way until early last week.
I've never ridden my bike in temps below low 50s. I worried over my clothing, too many layers? not enough? I need a good windbreaker that fits like a glove so it won't get whipped around. I decided on a mesh tee, compression long sleeve shirt, longsleeve jersey and lightweight jacket made of poly and spandex. I wore two pairs of socks and had toe warmers on my shoes, my fingerless gloves with padding and a lightweight pair of gloves with fingers over. I also wore my balaclava for the first time. It's like a ski mask with face shield that can be moved over the nose or out of the way. I had on regular bike shorts and long tights.
For the most part I was warm. I worried about my legs, but once you start pedalling the muscles stay fairly warm. My feet felt the worst. Very cold and almost numb by the end of 25 miles. The balaclava was good, my ears stayed warm. I had to keep moving the shield up and down. My glasses kept foggin up and my nose kept running. I still have problems breathing cold air. I'm not sure I can take colder temps. I wheezed for about an hour after I finished riding. By 2.5 hours after my lungs were feeling back to 90%. Good sign!
For the most part the ride was good. I wasn't as fast as I wanted, only avg'd 16 mph. I'll have to manage my expectations on these colder days. Hope I can get longer rides in next weekend.
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