Chilitos.....not a mexican breakfast.

Ah, I guess that should be spelled Chilly Toes.  If you've been riding I'm sure you know exactly what I'm talking about.  I've been on my mountain bike lately (because I've been too lazy to rebuild my xtracycle) and this means I have to actually use my bike shoes.  Yes, believe it or not I do own clip in pedals for my more "serious" riding.  The problem is these types of shoes are designed for "serious" riders....who apparently only ride when it's warm out and ventilation of the feet is paramount!  Not the best for days when it's 10 degrees outside for the morning ride.

If you don't think it's been cold in the morning just check out the ice flows in the truckee!  Little slushy patches were everywhere the last couple days, along with ice lining the river banks!

So stay warm out there and protect those piggies!

Tootsie Troubles.

Well, it's getting to be that time of year.  The mornings aren't quite as warm as they used to be and the angle of the sun is a little lower.  Don't get me wrong, it's certainly not cool out yet....but riding in shorts, t-shirt, and sandals is a little chilly!  I've added a smart-wool shirt over the t-shirt most of this week.  After they last few mornings, I'm seriously starting to think the sandals might not be working.....  In other words cold toes!!

I snapped a few pictures of the problem area on the ride in earlier this week.  Please note the pleasant sunshine warming said toes at the time of the first picture...and that the speed is a relatively relaxed 16-17 mph.  Nothing that keeps the toes cold during a good part of the ride.

The real cold toes issue is that the first 2 miles of my commute are all down hill and require very little peddling.  It's these first few miles of coasting that get the piggies chilled and then once peddling commences and the blood starts pumping all the digits get nice and warm again.

So what do you think?  How long into Fall can you rock the sandals on the daily commute?