Monday, October 11, 2010

My Winter Gear Issue #1- The Head

I live in North Carolina, it doesn't get very cold here. However, for a couple of months out of the year it is a little chilly for biking.  This year I'm going to attempt to continue to bike commute through the winter. This will be the first in a series of posts where I describe the gear I wear to protect myself from the cold, and how well it works for me.

As the title suggests this post will be about my hat.  Thanks to Kyra I have a hat I really like for winter biking. A couple of years ago she bought me a fleece Carhartt hat with a pull-down face mask. As a side note, I think Kyra bought the hat to push the online order over the free shipping price limit. Turns out that little afterthought purchase turned out to be a great hat for biking in the cold.  I like this hat a lot because it is both warm and thin, so it fits in my helmet without squeezing my brains out my ears.  The face mask can be pulled down for very cold days, or tucked into the hat for days that are merely chilly.

This hat has worked well for me.  It isn't cold enough to use it this year, but I have worn it on a couple of mornings.  In the past couple of years I have worn the hat when I ride to and from the bus, a short 1.5 mile ride. On this short a ride this hat is entirely sufficient to protect from North Carolina cold (The lowest of low is usually around 20°F or -7°C).  We will have to see how it holds up to longer rides in the cold.

Other winterizing entries:

3 comments:

K said...

Watcha talking about?!? I bought it because I wanted to keep your cute little face warm!

Tabb said...

Who's face you callin' little?

sara said...

Hey-- I've been slow on my blog lately & just saw your comment. Thanks for that. My in-laws just moved to Chapel Hill after living in NYC for over 40 years. We'll be making a trip down at some time & I'm really looking forward to visiting Cycle9.

Meanwhile, BEST investment I bought for last year's winter commute was Bern helmets with warm inserts AND ski goggles for all three of my boys. Warm ears and eyes protected from cold winds make for happier cargo bike passengers.