Gear: What’s keeping me warm this winter – GORE Windstopper jacket

This winter, I didn’t want to mess with layering on the really cold days. I just wanted a jacket that I could put on over a base layer and – wump! – everything would be sorted. The frugal skeptic inside me warned that I could be wasting a lot of money because I’d get too hot in a jacket, and I’d sacrifice the flexibility of layering. I ignored that voice and I’m glad I did.

I ordered a GORE windstopper jacket on sale for $130 ($70 less than suggested retail price) from World Cycling Productions. It has a soft shell, insulated with fleece, that’s windproof and resists water. The optimal climate range is 35-50 degrees F.  Vents under the arms can be unzipped to regulate temperature. The back pockets are roomy and hold a water bottle easily. There’s a chest pocket for my phone/camera.

I just love the garment, and I don’t miss the bad old days last year when I had to wear  a base layer, arm warmers (sometimes two pairs), long-sleeve jersey and a wind vest. For 3-4 hour rides, I would want the flexibility of layering. But for the intense 1-2 hour rides that I’m doing in February (because it’s too damn cold to ride longer), the jacket is perfect.  I’ve also found that now that I’m keeping my core warmer, my hands and feet don’t seem to get as cold. My body can better circulate blood to the extremities when it’s not pooling it up for the core.

The only thing I don’t like about the jacket is that the color is more neon lemon limey than it appears on the website. But I can easily live with that.

Road: Woah, hold on….moguls!

Check out the moguls on this dirt road. I wonder how this happens. My first journalism job was at a small paper in central Missouri, where I covered the Boone County beat. Yes, that’s right: Boone as in Daniel Boone. One of the hot issues was whether to pave the rural roads in the county. It was a fascinating debate, and I learned so much about road construction and how a new road can change a place. I also grew to appreciate how constructing a proper road is such an impressive engineering feat. Now, I’m more intrigued by how nature breaks down a road.