Okay perhaps I shouldn’t poke the bear but the 70’s turned into 30’s overnight and we had to breakout the “heavy lifting” apparel this week to ride. Here are some of our favorite tips for riding outside when it’s friggggging coolllllllddddd. We’d love to here some of yours. Leave us a comment below.

#1 WARM BEVERAGES. Trust me folks, being able to sip on a hot beverage on a cold ride helps a ton physically and mentally. Hydro Flask makes a awesome product. Keeping liquids hot/cold for hours upon hours. I mean it! I use this in winter and summer. 4 hour rides…still warm! The model shown in the photo has a flip top lid that works great for cycling. I like to drop in some Earl Grey tea and add CLIF LEMON LIME-ADE hydration mix. Tastes great! Check out Hydro Flask click here. 

Works great with Arundel cages.

#2 MORE STORAGE. Dressing for winter rides is all about layers and options. Heck I’ve been known to carry 4 sets of gloves. Often you start a ride and it warms up so you gotta shed those layers or vise-versa. It gets hard to find places to store these items. Jersey pockets fill up quick! Take an old water bottle and cut the top section off. Then use it for storage. You can get away with this in the winter because you are not drinking as much on the bike and most likely stopping at a gas station to refill and warm up.

#3 MAINTENANCE. Make sure your steed is well maintained. Nothing worse than changing a flat in frigid temps with gusting winds. It’s so hard to warm back up after that. Keep your bike in tip top shape. You’ll be happier and so will the group you ride with. Don’t be that guy that always has a mechanical!

#4 MOUNTAIN OR GRAVEL BIKE. Invest in a mountain or gravel bike. On the coldest days being able to ride trail or gravel is a MUCH warmer option. LESS windchill and greater protection from the wind in general. Quite frankly if you are not riding mountain bike in NWA you are missing out.

We would love to hear your tips. Leave a comment below!