Mitt Out Cold

This winter in particular has been very cold and as a winter cyclist, one of my biggest problems is keeping my extremities warm.  As it is, I wear arm warmers, boots, a toque under my helmet, two layers on my legs and two layers under my cycling jacket.

Not to mention my hands where I wear high dexterity gloves and a pair of mitts.  Still, those aren't enough layers to keep my hands warm and flexible enough to operate the brakes and shifter.  Although I've noticed that I don't shift very much in the winter and usually keep to the lowest gear.

After years of dicking around with bar mitts (see older post), I broke down this year and went into a dreaded motorized recreational vehicle store.  Just hate quads and dirt bikes, snowmobiles etc. (see older KVR post - "...Before its too late").  They had one last pair of "Bar Mitts" for sale and I snagged them right away since I had visited all the bike shops in town to no avail.

The blue colour symbolizes our cold weather

Before I installed the mitts on my handlebars, I very cleverly installed handlebar extenders the wrong way on the ends of the handlebar, thinking they would help to hold the "Mitts" up.  To a degree they do, except with the constant in and out to wipe off my moustache (or scratch nether regions), they don't stay open wide enough to be practical.  They flop down and look like a couple of stockings that should be mounted on the fireplace for Santa.

Stockings for Santa

With the skill I've gained using a sewing machine over the Christmas holiday, I fashioned two small loops of material that I've sewn into the "Mitts" and they have solved the problem by hooking onto the extenders and holding the "mitts" upright.  Now I can wipe my moustache and scratch whatever I want as often as I want and still be able to take my hands in and out of the "mitts"

Voila!