Coach’s Corner — Layering Up for Cold Ride
The Trick for Layering Up on Cold Rides
Our Coach’s Corner series is your chance to have your biggest cycling questions answered — right from longtime cycling coach Darryl MacKenzie. In these short Q&As, Coach Darryl speaks from his 35+ years of cycling and coaching experience to help you become a stronger, smarter cyclist.
Chilly Cyclist:
Coach, the weather is getting colder, so I put on several layers of clothing to keep warm for my group rides. But when I got to our ride start, I discovered that it would be a huge hassle to dig into those layers of clothing and put my heart rate monitor against my chest. What is the best order for putting on all those layers so I don’t get into another awkward situation?
Coach Darryl:
On chilly rides, the order you put on your cold-weather cycling clothing is critical. You don’t want to be stuck standing in a freezing parking lot with your heart rate monitor strap in hand. You’ll either have to go through a cumbersome, cold unbundling process — or you’ll need a lengthy bathroom stop to “get down to business!”
To avoid this unpleasant situation, here’s the perfect order to layer up for cycling in cold weather:
- Heart monitor: First things first. Before you put anything else on, wrap the heart monitor directly against your skin, right across your sternum. Once it’s on, you know you won’t have to strip back down.
- Undershirt: On a cold day, you want a snug-fitting base layer with long sleeves that you can tuck into your gloves.
- Bib shorts: Once you pull these on, tuck your undershirt inside the bib shorts to get coverage from your knees to your neck.
- Leg tights: Your tights should always go on after your shorts. That way, you can take your tights off if you warm up too much on the ride.
- Socks: Wear long socks you can pull over the top of your tights to cover any remaining gaps.
- Shoes and shoe covers: Cold air and icy winds make it difficult to keep your feet warm on a cold day. Shoe covers provide an extra layer of warmth for an area on the leading edge of those chilly breezes. Now you’re covered from neck to toe.
- Arm warmers: For especially cold rides, this extra layer can add a little more protection for your arms.
- Jersey: Save this for almost last. Your jersey sleeves should slide easily over your arm warmers.
- Cycling jacket: This top layer is easy to remove if you get too hot. On the coldest days, consider wearing multiple jackets.
- Gloves: In cool weather, I recommend starting with long-fingered gloves and switching to short-fingered gloves once your hands start to sweat. If your fingers are still cold under your long-fingered gloves, try adding rubber gloves underneath to trap more heat — just be sure you cut holes in the fingertips so sweat doesn’t pool up inside them.
- Balaclava: Finally, before you put on your helmet, cover your head and neck with a balaclava for complete face protection.
Follow that order, and you’ll always be ready when you get to the start of a cold ride — no undressing required! If you live in an area where the temperatures warm up mid-day, bring along a lightweight, thin, drawstring backpack where you can stuff jackets, tights and gloves as you remove layers.
