Badge of honour: frozen water bottle!

[rousseau]

Having upped my weather-beating gear game this fall, I haven't let the record-setting cold of the last few days stop me from riding. I just got in from a night ride at -4, and I felt fine. That's below freezing, i.e. "cold" in American Fahrenheit (20s, I think?).

But the coolest thing was that the moisture around the nozzle on my water bottle eventually froze so that by the end of the ride I couldn't suck anything out of it. Which isn't so great if you're thirsty, but it's awesome to feel comfortable enough to do an hour-long ride in weather as cold as this.

For the non-tropical people who won't let anything keep them off their bikes, here's the lowdown on the gear that made this possible:

Feet: summer socks, plastic bags, regular cycling shoes, sock shoecovers, thermal overshoes
Legs: Leg warmers, winter tights, regular bib shorts
Torso and arms: arm warmers, thermal base layer, regular jersey, long-sleeved thin sweater, long-sleeved Under Armour Coldgear shirt, winter cycling jacket
Hands: thin gloves, cycling gloves, lobster claw mitts
Head: thermal beanie, toque, neck gaiter, helmet

Seems like a lotta hassle putting all this on, right? Yeah, it does. It takes almost ten minutes. But I don't mind, and I actually find it kinda fun, because it reminds me of being in the dressing room before hockey practice or a game. I was on skates at three and was in an organized league at five.

I played goalie. I remember how long it took to get all that equipment on, so getting ready for rides in the winter doesn't bother me.

[dancinkozmo]

mike palmateer.....the real deal !

[rousseau]

Yep, the one and only Popcorn Kid. My hero in 1978.

[bewheels]

Welcome to cold weather riding!

Here are some things to look forward to:
Having the actual water bottle freeze. Not just the spout, but the actual liquid in the bottle. It will go through a 'slush' stage which is a sign that you need to deal with it.

How to deal with it - keep one bottle in an inner jersey pocket (one that is under a few layers) and as one bottle start to act-up, exchange it with the one that has been in the inner jersey pocket where it is warmer. This way you extend the drink-ability of the bottle for a longer period of time. Depending on how cold it is and how long you are out, sooner or later they will freeze faster than you can keep them rotating.

Use insulated bottles - the kind that people generally use to keep their water cold for longer. Insulation's job is to keep something at its current temp longer. It doesn't care if it is keeping something cold or warm/hot.
The issue with insulated bottles are the material they are made of makes them stiff and therefor difficult to get a good pull of liquid from - you can't really squeeze them to accelerate the liquid coming out. This material gets more stiff in really cold temps.

...the fun really starts when you are out when the temps are in the 0 to 10 fahrenheit / -10 to -20 celsius

[Peter P.]

Originally Posted by bewheels

Welcome to cold weather riding!

Here are some things to look forward to:

Don't forget trying to find "your private parts" after the ride!

[muz]

When I lived in Minnesota, one trick I used was to keep the bottle upside down in the cage. Keeps the nozzle working as ice forms in the bottle. I used a Camelbak inside my jacket with an insulated hose when it got real cold.

[rousseau]

Thanks for the great tips. Since I can't see myself riding for more than an hour and change when it gets below zero (record-breaking temps this past week aside, that's really just a January and February problem in the northeastern/midwestern parts of North America, thankfully), I'm not all that bothered by the water freezing in the bottle. My ad hoc solution is going to be to warm the water up in the kettle before setting out, and/or drinking more earlier in the ride. If I get enough hydration for the first 45 minutes it won't matter how little I get in the last half hour.

This taste of January/February in November has been bracing but illuminating. I tend to see any riding in winter as an off-season bonus, so I'm not all that concerned about water bottle niceties. If anything, the ice issue is an enjoyable reminder that I'm cheating the elements! And pardon my roadie conceit, but "real riding" to me means road riding. On days when the roads get snowy and the air gets chilly I go out for a half hour on my mountain bike, and it's great fun, but I see it as a stop-gap measure that's never quite as satisfying.

Back to beating the elements: Years ago I used to buy those chemical toe-warmers that you slide into your shoes, but I'm trying to stay away from them as I foray into colder temp riding. I think I've discovered that scrunching your toes up and down helps to alleviate the unpleasant freezing sensation somewhat. Has anyone else found this? Is it due to helping with the circulation, or does the motion produce heat? Or both?

The reason I ask is that I've previously cut rides short when my toes started to get cold, as I figured that that was it, that the countdown to frostbite had started and I only had a clearly defined window to deflect catastrophe by getting back to a warm house. Now I wonder if I wasn't overreacting to a bit of toe vexation.

[unterhausen]

I was really happy my bottles didn't freeze yesterday. 19F at the start, it did make it up into the 40's, but then by sundown it was back near 20F again

[ripvanrando]

25F at the start yesterday that began with a 2 mile 30mph downhill. I thought my face was going to fall off but it just takes time to adjust. Once below 15-20F, wind and sun come into play. A calm sunny 15F ride can be very nice. Yes, the bottle freeze.

[sg8357]

Add orange juice to your water, it lowers the freezing point.

Used to a do a 60 mile winter only ride, ride leader had a sense
of humor, destination was a dairy, noted for their ice cream.
Nothing like a milk shake on a 25 degree day, not!

It was only 28 at the start Saturday, balmy, hot cocoa at the turn.

[jumphigher]

I started using a cheap pair of Nashbar toe covers a few days ago - the kind made of foam that slip over your shoes. I've ridden twice with them on so far in 40F weather and they work great. Normally - even with my wool socks on, my toes would get pretty cold even in 50 degree temps. So I'm pretty sure these will work well even in the 30's - I'll find out this winter. The beauty is that they only cost around $6 on sale, and just slip right on.

So basically I'd recommend getting a similar set.

[soulspinner]

Decades ago training in the teens water bottles froze and I rode and rode. Next morning had my first encounter with kidney stones.

[weisan]

All these anecdotes sort of put things in perspective for me to be thankful for the 50-60s temp. we are having in Austin currently.

[CNY rider]

Nice job!
I rode for about 2 hours on Saturday, on the trails.
I took the fat bike, and it was perfect for the frozen mud covered with a little dusting of snow.
If you have good mountain biking trails around you, give them more of a try this winter. The woods keeps you out of the wind and you're going slow most of the time so you aren't generating your own breeze.

And I too had my first water bottle slushie of the year.