I was out on Wednesday night (5th Jan), left home around 18:50 and arrived at the local pub at around 21:00 after around 20 miles of quasi-offroad riding with a MTB group. My Wahoo Bolt was hovering around -2 to -3°C for the whole ride and by the end of it some of the muddy verges and trails were starting to freeze. I had anticipated the cold and dressed for it (below if interested) and aside from some initial cold in my hands, which improved with exertion and circulation, was generally warm enough all over, sometimes even a little too warm and sweaty. The boots shown below are a new purchase and have made an enormous difference to my previous use of 'regular' MTB shoes with waterproof socks and/or overshoes. Before, my feet would get really cold but now they don't.
- compression base layer, long-sleeved
- microfleece mid-layer, long sleeved
- MTB jersey (normal material, not winterised), long-sleeved
- soft-shell jacket
- buff
- skull cap (under helmet)
- bib tights
- MTB trousers
- 'road' summer socks
- Merino winter socks
- Shimano MW5 boots (SPD)
- merino glove liners
- fleece-lined gloves.
This is my maximum clothing amount for cold riding - I think if it were to get appreciably colder I'd have to look at something more specialist. As it was the above amount wasn't too bulky nor restrictive.