Getting chilly in the cafe

[MichaelW2]

One problem with cafe stops in winter is a rapid transition from high workrate in cold damp, to resting in warm clammy cafe interior. Instant sweat.
If you feel an imminent cake stop, slow down and cooldown on the bike. Stop pedalling and coast to dump some heat even just for a minute . Strip off some layers before entering hot zone.

 

[wiggydiggy]

When I was out yesterday for an ambitious (but not rubbish) 50+ mile ride the two longer stops I had I stayed stood up for one as my legs felt they would seize, the other I sat on a wall with my legs dangling. Both solutions worked for me as I felt if I had sat down legs bent they wouldn't have worked afterwards!

 

[Mr Celine]

When I was at uni I briefly tried canoeing. Before being let loose on a freezing River Teith the instructor told us newbies not to buy expensive waterproof gear that we might not use again if we decided we didn't like canoeing. Instead he told us to wear a woolly jumper next to the skin. No matter how scratchy and uncomfortable this might be it was better than being wet and cold. Someone asked why it had to be wool, to which the instructor replied that it keeps you warm even when wet and this was why you don't see sheep wearing raincoats.

So go with the merino baselayer. They aren't even scratchy. And don't worry about moths, if you don't already have them a single new item of clothing is not going to attract an instant plague of them.

 

[matticus]

Someone asked why it had to be wool, to which the instructor replied that it keeps you warm even when wet and this was why you don't see sheep wearing raincoats.

You also don't often see sheep swimming :P
(but more importantly, they do live a lot of life on cold rainy British hillsides, so it's quite a good testimony to the properties of wool )

 

[MichaelW2]

The heavy wooly jumpers used by fishermen and submariners is made of wool that retains much of the natural lanolin oil so is water resistant.

 

[Kingfisher101]

When I was at uni I briefly tried canoeing. Before being let loose on a freezing River Teith the instructor told us newbies not to buy expensive waterproof gear that we might not use again if we decided we didn't like canoeing. Instead he told us to wear a woolly jumper next to the skin. No matter how scratchy and uncomfortable this might be it was better than being wet and cold. Someone asked why it had to be wool, to which the instructor replied that it keeps you warm even when wet and this was why you don't see sheep wearing raincoats.

So go with the merino baselayer. They aren't even scratchy. And don't worry about moths, if you don't already have them a single new item of clothing is not going to attract an instant plague of them.

They can be, I came out in a rash all over from it, so it depends I think on the person and their skin

 

[matticus]

They can be, I came out in a rash all over from it, so it depends I think on the person and their skin

You're far from the first person to have had issues with merino against their skin; BUT I would say that most people find merino "feels" much nicer than regular wool, and the number of bad reactions is far lower. My personal favourite is panda ears ...