Winter Gloves

I finally broke down and bought some winter gloves at CycleGear. My first pair of winter gloves ever. Yes, I think I'm becoming a wuss. However, I look forward to testing out my new gloves. I can't even fathom what it's like to have toasty, hell even almost warm, hands while riding in <50 degrees.

Usually, anything under 60 degrees and my fingers are popsicles. I've been itching to try them out since I bought them at the beginning of the week. Wouldn't you know it, we've had the nicest weather since purchase of said gloves. Today it was mid-50s and I couldn't wait any longer. So I hit the road in my Sedici waterproof women's gloves. Oh my! My hands have never been that toasty. With the advent of winter gloves, I totally don't understand why more people don't ride in the winter.

Lady Rider Jacket

I don't think I've posted anything about my jacket, yet. So here goes. The jeans I'm wearing in this pic are the Red Route Kevlar lined jeans I mentioned in an earlier post. Warmer than regular jeans in the winter. I'm currently sporting Joe Rocket Ballistic 5.0 riding pants these winter days, though. I must say that I've never been so toasty on an overcast 30 degree day. A light layer fits underneath, but be warned- you'll experience cold/hot flashes in those pants. Completely weird. When the heater's on where ever you are, your legs will be cold. If the A/C is on, your legs will be sweating buckets. Sure, you could take them off but who wants to lug around an extra pair of pants?
Personality # 32: FOCUS!
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Oh, yeah... Jacket.
 It's the Lady Rider jacket by Frank Thomas (size small). Or from that riding gear collection. However you want to phrase where it came from. I've had this jacket for 2 years.  People probably think I have a fascination with pink. I was in Cyclegear when I saw this lovely jacket (the only one that fit my budget) and they didn't have black or blue in my size. When it comes to being able to ride, I'm REALLY impatient. So what the hell, pink it is.
The liner is awesome and warm. It's super easy to take out. And, since I tend to run cold, I can still fit 2-3 layers of under-armor, 1 T-shirt. and 2 sweaters under this jacket. Big plus in my book. It has a waist band the wearer can tighten which keeps air from getting up under there, but then it puffs up the upper body of the jacket (which you can kind of see in the picture). Free and painless temporary boob job.
It's got pads in the elbows and shoulders and the upper portion of the back. Take out the liner and it's a nice jacket to wear up to around 80 degrees. Humid days- it's just awful. But, overall a keeper.

Gloves, Gloves, Gloves

The holes in my Shift gloves are growing in size, so I thought it was about time to get a backup pair. Stopped by CycleGear in OKC and found some Bilt gloves.

Shows how well I study...
I love that padding on the lower palm. The length of the gloves will take some getting used to since they don't fit too well under my jacket. And, they seemed kind of breezy when I took them for a test ride. So, I'll have to get some liners for those 20 degree rides. They're a size large. My shift gloves were a size medium. And, the last Joe Rocket gloves I had were a small.