Above Freezing: My First January Ride

In November, when temps started going down below 40 degrees Fahrenheit, people started exclaiming "Wow, you biked in today?" when they saw me and my son walking into his preschool classroom with our helmets on. Then in December I woke up to 33, 30, 29, and 25-degree days—and near the end of the month, six inches of snow. Last week, the first of the year, temperatures went down to the single digits, and I thought I was done biking to work until springtime.

But I should learn to never say never, because I was back in the saddle today! Inspired by this blog post and video on Let's Go Ride a Bike, I wore layers of (mostly) wool and set out into the sunshine. It was 35 degrees and not too windy. My outfit consisted of

• helmet
• cycling cap with ear flaps (poly-wool blend)
• sunglasses
• scarf (wool)
• long sweater (wool)
• Icebreaker long-sleeve shirt (technical wool)
• glove liners (technical wool)
• gloves (acrylic knit with fleece lining)
• work skirt (linen, polyester)
• work shirt (cotton)
• work tights (polyester)
• socks (cotton)
• boots (leather)

My son had on (over his regular clothes) snow pants, coat, balaclava, boots, gloves, mittens, and of course his helmet. With the sun beating down on us, we were almost too toasty in all our layers by the time we got to school. When I find myself filled with self-doubt, thinking how can I put my little three-year-old kid on a bike in this frigid weather, I remind myself that I'd take him out sledding or ice skating for one or two hours in colder temps than today's, and he would be happy to be outside all day long. It takes us less than half an hour to get to his school in the morning; he was fine.

The Charles River looked beautiful, gleaming and crisp with its banks heaped with snow and the view unobscured by leafy trees. I passed a couple of other cyclists on my way, and we waved and smiled to each other, surprised and pleased to see other determined people who were not afraid of the cold weather. The roads were cleared, with only a few clumps of dirty piles of icy snow here and there on the side. I had plenty of room to maneuver. It didn't feel dangerous at all and I had no need for special tires or anything like that. Riding to work makes me happy; I think I'll continue to do it this winter unless there's fresh snow on the ground!