22 pieces of clothing!

That what it takes to ride outside in 20 degree weather.

Here in Utah, if you want to ride in the winter, its either in the basement on the trainer or outside in the cold. This past 2 weeks has been especially difficult to ride outside with the inversion trapping all the clouds and pollution down here in the valley.

The basement option is sometimes a good one. 17 degrees is the coldest I've ridden and it ain't much fun. So the basement becomes a second home. Its also the only ridding I can do while my wife is at work and my daughter is napping. Sometimes I use Spinerval DVD's, other times I put in a good action movie. None-the-less, there's only so much a sane human being can take of the "pain cave". That's when I HTFU and get outside.

Riding out side though requires some prep. For 20 degrees, it no less 22 individual pieces of kit. From the top down:

Helmet - spare Bell Alchera with vents taped over with clear packing tape
Cycling cap - Pearl Izumi breathable
Beanie - Sirius w/ Windstopper
Glasses - Oakley Radar w/ yellow lens
Under Armour base layer
Under Armour mock turtle neck
Champion Systems winter jacket
Polar HR strap
Bibs
Trek Knee Warmers
Sugoi fleece lined tights
Wool socks
Shoes
Pearl Izumi booties
Giro wind/waterproof gloves
Glove liners

While putting all this on and off adds to the time needed to ride, after spending 3 hours in the pain cave today, it may have been worth it to put all this on and enjoy the great outdoors!