Cold Weather Cycling Injury
I’ve done well - it’s now 13 months since I last fell off a bike. That was when I discovered a patch of black ice and the front wheel went out from under me like a jolly fast thing on a very slippy surface.
Since then I’ve been extremely wary of ice, wet roads, patches of gravel, bits of tarmac that look funny, etc.
Yet I’ve still managed to injure myself cycling this winter. I’ve been riding my Pashley (Seigfried to you) in nice smart clothes, including nice smart work brogues. The trouble is that it’s been pretty cold. I know - cold in winter. Whatever next?
Anyway - I’ve wrapped up warm, wearing skiing gloves when it’s really cold, a scarf, hat, a jumper, and usually my moleskin suit (not made from real moles). But my feet have been in those nice smart work brogues, with nice thin smart-looking socks.
And I’ve ended up with chilblains.
“What are chilblains, apart from some sort of affliction that affected Victorian agricultural workers?”, I hear you ask.
Well, they look like this:
No - those aren’t my toes - mine look far worse, with blue / bruised looking patches of skin. It’s just an image from Wikipedia, which explains:
Chilblains are acral ulcers (that is, ulcers affecting the extremities) that occur when a predisposed individual is exposed to cold and humidity. The cold exposure damages capillary beds in the skin, which in turn can cause redness, itching, blisters, and inflammation.
Yep - that’s what I’ve got. The trouble is that because my toes are inflamed, I’ve been wearing thinner socks… which has made things worse. My toes are painful, itchy and swollen, making even walking uncomfortable.
Chilblains aren’t frost-bite, but the first stage along that route:
- Chilblains; surface ulceration of the skin
- => Frostnip; superficial freezing of the skin’s surface layers
- => Frostbite; deep freezing of the skin tissue, leading to severe damage, gangrene, amputation, etc.
As I also have Reynaud’s disease, I’m probably predisposed to these sorts of things.
I could stop cycling for a couple of months. But apart from the cold, it’s been such perfect cycling weather - clear skies, light winds, and ice-free thanks to the low humidity.
So until the weather warms up, those nice smart work brogues can stay in the shoe rack. I’m wearing my Very Sensible Safety Shoes. They’re insulated, and roomy enough to be worn with Very Sensible Skiing Socks.
Product placement: Shimano MT91 MTB hiking boots
warm
waterproof
SPD
vibram soled
don’t look like cycle shoes
If you aren’t afraid of wearing what look like hiking boots, these are the winter footware of choice
http://www.chainreactioncycles.com/Models.aspx?ModelID=47344
I like Hi-Tec’s waterproof walking boots for Winter Bromptoning, personally, although I’ve a pair made by Rohan now that are excellent, and far warmer.
Hey why don’t you emigrate somewhere warmer! We have a fantastic 20 here in the south of Japan, mind it is raining so much you need a boat to get to work. Alternatively you could ditch the clips for a month or two and wear hiking boots. Ok you might argue its slower but I think without clips but with healthy good looking feat might just be more fun then with clips and badly damaged odd looking (smelly?) feat. And maybe concentrating on the ride rather than the feet might also add to speed.
I’ve resorted to my steel toe capped work boots for warmth as three layers of socks under my normal shoes plus overshoes didn’t even keep my toes warm. The boots work a treat though. A bit on the heavy side though with the metal toe caps. I’m trying to be positive and see the heavy pedalling as a weird sort of winter training.
ski socks. that is all i have to say.