21-23 degrees, 6-13 mph winds, sunny

21-23 degrees, 6-13 mph winds (that seemed stronger coming across the lakes), sunny

Upper:

Icebreaker Merino short sleeve T-shirt, Bodyfit 260 long sleeve, Ibex Merino jersey with a Gore BikeWear “Tool jacket” for the outer layer. This was pretty good for the conditions but my back got a bit sweaty since this jacket has windblock all around not just in front like the Ibex jacket I have been wearing. See jacket comparison below.

Hands:

Perl Izumi lobster ski gloves with thin wool liners. This was perfect.

Lower:

Ibex ClimaWool pants over medium weight merino wool tights over regular cycling  shorts. This was a little chilly at the start but after I warmed up it was very good but still on the chilly side.

Feet:

Medium weight wool socks, thin wool liner socks with Lake Winter boots. This was pretty good but my toes were just a tad chilly after a couple hours.

Head:

Wore my down-hill ski helmet with medium balaclava and regular glasses. This was nearly perfect but my cycling glasses would have been a better choice.

Riding pace:

I’m guessing a 14-16 mph.

Etc.:

This started out as a quick errand trip but it was so nice I ended up riding for a few hours. The nice thing about the Minneapolis area is that I can ride for hours and almost never be off a trail or at least a dedicated bike lane.

The Gore BikeWear jacket was my main commuting/skiing jacket last year and I wanted to compare it to the Ibex jacket I picked up this fall and have been wearing for all my riding. The Ibex jacket has a wind resistant front with a more breathable, and not wind resistant, wool back. The venting in the back has made controlling my body temp much easier and I expect to take this jacket down into the single digits (we’ll see…) though I had expected to use it only for rides above freezing. Since even with a strong tail wind, I always have wind at my front it makes sense that this is working so well. I wouldn’t wear it cross country skiing in lower temps since I can’t always be certain a tailwind won’t hit me that I can’t out run like I can on the bike.