Caring for your feet in winter

How many times have you gone riding in cool or cold weather, not necessarily even freezing, and your feet get cold, not just a little cold, but freezing cold and numb! Of course, there are ways to vastly improve foot comfort in cold weather.

The three basic principals of keeping your feet warm are: 1) maximize blood flow, 2) block the wind, and 3) Insulate the foot, including the sole. Keeping your feet dry is not nearly as important as insulation and blocking the wind. Wet feet can still be warm.
Use the temperature outside and the size of your budget to refine your winter foot strategy.

Before anything else, make sure that your riding shoes are not too tight. You are better off riding with thin socks and good blood flow than you are with thick socks that reduce your circulation in tight shoes. If you are buying new cycling shoes, make sure they are not too tight. You can always take up a little extra room with an insole. But you cannot stretch most cycling shoes to fit looser.

Second, block the wind. All the insulation in the world is useless if the wind is blowing through it. If you are riding summer shoes in the winter, wind can be blocked with plastic bags over your socks, with windproof socks, or with covers over the outside of your shoes. Plastic bags are free and can help tremendously. Shoe covers keep the cold wind even further from your toes and generally keep your feet drier than plastic bags.

Third, more insulation is warmer. If there is room in your shoes for thicker socks, thicker socks are warmer than thin ones. Wool or high performance synthetics are much warmer than cotton or cotton blends. And, insulated shoe covers can add even more insulation on the outside of the shoes. While most people find winter-specific shoes to be the warmest and most comfortable in winter weather, many people make due with summer shoes and insulated shoe covers for much of their Willamette Valley winter riding.

Finally, regardless of the other efforts taken, there is always the option of chemically enhanced heating. For $2 - $5, a pair of chemical foot warmers can be put under your feet adding significantly to your cold weather comfort for up to eight hours.

Experiment until you find the solution, or combination of solutions, that work best for you.