Thirty-five degrees is cold. It's colder on a bike. This morning's ride wasn't too bad at all, really. Except, you know, for my frozen eyeballs and the loss of my fingertips. And my big toes. But other than that I was pretty comfortable. There was a moment when I was going about twenty-five miles an hour and crossed over a large wash and it suddenly got really, really cold; it took a while to warm back up after that.
It's a good thing to dress appropriately. That whole thing about layers is fine and dandy if you're going on a really long ride, but if you're only going out for an hour or so who's going to stop to remove clothing? Settle on a compromise. I usually err on the side of warmth because it is long-established fact that I am a wuss when it comes to the cold. For instance, this morning, three degrees from freezing, I wore long socks, shorts, winter tights, a long sleeved under shirt, a long sleeved jersey (with hood!), a jacket, full-fingered gloves with a windstopper liner over them, and a balaclava. Sounds like overkill, but I didn't get too warm and I still had painful cold in my fingertips and toes (an issue I have, by the way).
I also have exercise induced asthma that sometimes bothers not at all and other times all but puts the kaibash on an activity. It is definitely worse when it is cold out--cold air and my lungs just don't get along. Thus the balaclava. Having that polypropylene layer over my mouth warmed my breath enough that I didn't have this issue.
I got my arse out of bet at 5:30 this morning and hit the road about 6:00. It was 35 degrees outside and I road my bike and I'm none the worse for wear. Proper clothing and a little masochism make all the difference. So get out and ride!
