published 9.19.2002

Cyclo-CROSS Dressing

By Chip Sovek

Whether you are training or racing how you dress will play a big factor in the outcome or your Cyclocross adventure or cold weather ride. You can under-dress and always have a chill hen you realize that your ‘warm-up’ part of the ride turned into a ‘pedal-or-die’ survival mode because you can’t warm-up at all. The flip side is you can overdress and sweat too much which, ultimately, leads right back to being cold again. Overdressing during a training ride isn’t too bad, you can slow down and regulate your body temperature or simply shed some clothes. During a race this isn’t going to be such a good option unless you enjoy losing places quicker than money in recent stock market trends.

Proper dress and clothing choices can make or break a good ride or race but there are a few tips and tricks that can make things so much better, OK - at least tolerable. Listed below are some cooler temperature tips and upgrades to what you might already have in that drawer that only opens when the early mornings are still dark. I’ve also cobbled together “Chips Bargain Tips” for those that are want to save those precious dollars for race entry instead of wearing your income.

I will assume most everyone is educated on the 3 layers of ‘how to dress’ for winter workouts so I’ll just mention them and not get into detail. Layer 1, this base layer is usually against your skin as a thin layer of any wicking type material. Layer 2 is normally a ‘warmth - insulating’ type layer. Lastly, layer 3 is the protective layer that shields you from the elements, such as wind or rain protection. It should be noted that in a race environment layers 2 and 3 are most commonly used on your torso (only) to protect your ‘core’ body temp. In extreme cold they are combined to create maximum protection, including maximum movement with minimum weight, especially when wet…and you will get wet! My disclaimer is ‘wear suggested products at your own risk’ I will assume no responsibility for getting wet, staying cold or start-line humility.

Here we go:

• Jackets – (training, not racing) Great for longer training rides in any temp, not good for racing because they don’t breath and you will overheat in 60 seconds.

• Long Tights – (training, some racing) anything long are great for training, but again, I wouldn’t use them in a race. Not only will you overheat, you will severely restrict your leg flexibility. This is a huge no-no for cross…think barriers! Use only when temps are stupid cold (think Kansas-2000) and you should be watching TV.

• Sweaters – (training - wool or pullover type, NOT jackets) If you can still find them these are perfect for training rides. They work with or without other pieces of clothing in temps ranging from 30-60 degrees. Not recommended for racing, but they make a great cool down item after a race or for some serious spectating.

• Knickers – (training & racing) These ‘long shorts’ really protect your knees and are great for those ‘almost too cold’ days, anywhere from 30-50 degrees. A personal favorite, they work nice in a race because you can still have maximum leg movement.

• Vests – (training, some racing) A nice addition to a long training ride on crisp fall days, they offer the most flexibility for your torso but make sure they ventilate well. If you are going to race in one (temps around 30-40ish), just make sure they have some ventilation down the sides or an open back style

• Long Sleeve Jerseys - (training & racing) A very nice touch, especially then they match your team uniform, or your fortunate to be a race leader as they will commonly be long sleeve and display ‘loudly’ that you are the marked man/women! These are very ‘Euro’ looking and it’s a good idea to wear a base layer underneath them.

• Undershirt - (training & racing) This is really your base layer so I’ll just mention that it has to be a ‘wicking-type’ material that doesn’t necessarily have to cost a lot, which they can. It can be as simple as an old race jersey with the sleeves cut off. One tip – the low collar jerseys work best so they don’t restrict (or chafe) your neck if you have a second zip top on. As a second layer in extreme cold (30-45) wear a wool (brushed) sleeveless v-neck pullover between your base layer and race jersey for maximum warmth in race conditions only.

• Arm Warmers - (training & definitely racing) Another personal favorite, these can used for racing along with a single undershirt (base layer) and you have a great race set-up with maximum flexibility. This combination will get you through most cyclo-cross races at a broad range (35-60) of temps. If you feel yourself overheating simply pull down your arm warmers, it’s like having a built in thermostat.

• Leg Warmers - (training & NOT racing) Like arm warmers, which are nice for training, I recommend NOT using them for racing. Double whammy here - not only do they restrict your leg movement but they can fall down to your ankles…trust me, you’ll only make this mistake once! The nice thing about leg warmers is you can simply pull them over whatever your wearing for a pre-race warm-up.

• Shoe Covers - (training) great for training on those longer fall/winter rides, don’t even think of racing in them! The colder it is the better these work, especially those thicker ones which are hard to find now-a-days. The thin ones are nice too, but really are protection from wind in temps around 40 and above whereas the thick ones will handle anything below that. . I’ve got an old pair of Descente covers that are priceless.

The rest of the list is going to deal with your extremities, which is where you lose much of your heat, especially your head. Experimentation and suffering will teach you what kind of person you are as far as where you weakness lies. Is it your feet that fail first or your hands or perhaps something in-between. Personally, my feet are the weak link to my ultimate failure. You will find that in a race or on a training ride very simple adjustments and modifications can make the biggest differences. It should be noted that whenever you finis a hard ride, especially a race…you should change your clothes within minutes of getting your heartrate down. Waiting too long can give you a chill and these can be hard to shake and possibly lead to illness.

• Gloves – (training & racing) If temps permit short fingers are fine, but full fingered have more of an advantage than meets the eye. Beside warmth, you get better grip in slop conditions.

• Socks – (training & racing) Your feet are a very valuable commodity, treat them well. If your feet are a weakness you’ll try anything and any combination. I’ve learned from experience to wear 2 pair of thinner socks vs. one really thick pair. I’ve also purchased my cross shoes a half-size bigger to accommodate extra sock while maintaining some ‘wiggle room’ for your toes. Trying to squeeze more mass into a cycling shoe that’s meant to fit correctly will result in going right back to square one. When your shoes are to tight you cut off circulation resulting in frozen feet, which can be very painful. At the 1998 cyclo-cross natz in Massachusetts I finished my race with 2 cinder blocks dangling from my legs. My feet were so cold they went numb and it took all I had just to finish the race.

• Caps/Hats & your Noggin – (training & racing) most of your heat will escape through your head (think of a chimney) so you want to capture any heat that might be more valuable to your core (torso) temp and regulate it. Training rides will dictate a light hat, maybe some ear warmers or perhaps a balaclava. Racing requires you to scale down for weight, movement and ventilation. Skull caps, cycling caps and head bands will handle most temps depending on your personal style.

One thing that racing will teach you is, while all of us will sweat, you can usually maintain a comfortable body temp even though your hat is soaked in sweat. Think of a scuba suit here…once your warm that layer of moisture, it will stay warm until the seal is broken. In this case until you finish the race. For training you don’t really want to sweat profusely but enough to cool you down while still maintaining your core temp. Ventilation is key, experiment with how to regulate your comfortable temperature, either through layers or zippers or hats. Once you figure this out you should be able to ride clear through the coldest of days. My personal cut off is 20 degrees, anything around this temp is consider breaking out the rollers or go for a run. Winter (Jan/Feb) is a natural down time for cyclists so I wouldn’t guilt yourself into a 2-3 hour ride and risk illness. You will probably do more damage than good.

“Chips Bargin Tips”

Below you will find a few tips that I’ve used, seen elsewhere and heard of. some old some new but all are for the budget conscious.

• Helmets – A great trick to keep warm air in and cold air out is to tape up those airflow vents that helmet company’s work so hard to create. Clear packing tape is best and it comes in all different sizes

• Vests – this should be treated as a ‘insulating’ layer. Sweaters, pullovers and wool products can be found at any Goodwill or Salvation Army. These are usually a dime-a-dozen and you can always find something wool that you just know someone else paid top dollar for. My favorite is wool, sleeveless v-neck sweaters. These work great between a base layer (old jersey with sleeves cut off) and a team jersey. This is very recommended for racing.

• Poor-mans ‘Wind stopper’ – If you have a winter cycling sweater or a pullover that’s NOT a jacket, which aren’t very breathable, go out and get yourself a thin windbreaker. The windbreaker vests work best, the trick here is to wear them underneath your sweater. When you get to warm, simply unzip the vest to regulate your temperature and your sweater will keep if from flapping in the wind like a capped crusader. Not recommended for racing.

• Home-made ‘seal skins’ – You know all those plastic grocery bags that pile up in your cabinets and closets…try wearing them on your feet when Cyclocross conditions are at there best. Mud, snow and rain will break any rider so extreme protection is a must (within reason). By wearing your local grocer’s product between your thin double layer of socks you can tuck in and hide any trade secret and use it as a secret weapon during a race. You’ll be amazed at how slow your competition will go once their feet freeze.

• Home-made ‘seal skins,’ part 2 – I haven’t done this trick since training for 24 hour races a few years ago but it works great and will make you tough as nails, especially for events that only last 1 hour. Expanding on the plastic bag trick you can use a small kitchen garbage bag to act as a ‘cycling diaper’ if you will. Cut the corners off of the bottom and wear this between cycling shorts and tights. I don’t care how much you’ve paid for anything your wearing…if it’s raining, you will get wet! The advantage is how long can you last in the rain. Going back to my scuba suit reference, same idea. This works better for training but can certainly work in a race. When you line up on the start line sounding like a cat in a paper bag tell them that you just saw ‘Ace Ventura’ on the back line and take off.