Winter Missoula Gravel Ride
In this vid, I brave the winter weather and go for a short gravel loop taking the Ewok trail back home. Curious what riding is like in Missoula in the winter? Check it out!
In this vid, I brave the winter weather and go for a short gravel loop taking the Ewok trail back home. Curious what riding is like in Missoula in the winter? Check it out!
Chemical warmers in your boots.
Winter riding……..
Start with a shoe 2 European sizes larger than your normal summer size. Use a wicking liner sock, attach a chemical toe warmer to the liner sock, then add a heavy mostly WOOL over sock. Top all of that off with a thick insulated shoe cover.
The cross country skiers are looking at you in a strange way, because you are tearing up their ski trails. That makes cross country skiing nearly impossible.
Hi Russ,
Cold toes have been a problem for me for as long as I can remember. I can put on just about any pair of boots and go for a winter walk and be assured of warm toes but sit still or get on a bike and start pedaling and my toes can get painfully cold in just about any footwear if I stay out much beyond 1/2 hour. Circulation issues I suspect. I’ve tried the chemical toe warmer packs with varying success. The main problem with them is they require exposure to air to work and there isn’t much air circulating in the bottoms of most winter boots. Still they are relatively cheap and worth a try. They might deliver just enough heat for you. For biking I would put them on top of my socks. Having them on the bottom was not comfortable for me.
I’ve settled on some heated insoles from Hotronics (not cheap @$250) I can move them between my skate ski boots and my winter boots that I use for cycling. After 1.5-2 hours out skiing or cycling my feet might feel slightly cool but not painfully cold so I’m satisfied with this solution. My fingers might get cold at first but generally warm up in time with some vigorous cycling or skiing. I’ve also found Bar Mitts to be very helpful.
Funny, when you said it was 24 degrees out and sunshine I thought “Wow, perfect winter weather”!
Fun to see the riding around Missoula. We visited Missoula this fall, but not long enough to get a real sense of the riding around there. Looking forward to hearing more about Missoula and Montana!