One if by bike, two if by foot

I did a lot of walking yesterday trying to publicize the Beacon St meeting on Monday.
I walked from Kirkland and Beacon up to Porter Sq, and back again, in 23 degree weather.
Because I was anticipating standing around handing out informational flyers, and walking to attach flyers to parked bikes,* I wore a LOT of clothes.  Wool long-sleeve T-shirt, wool cardigan, down vest, down coat, wool tights, jeans, wool socks, Ugg, wool hat and wool scarf.    To borrow a lovely phrase from Vorpal Chortle, I was like a "woolen onion" with all my layers. While I was walking, I was perfectly comfortable, neither too hot nor too cold. But while biking to the meetup, just a few blocks, I was WAY too hot, even with my down coat unzipped, and my scarf off.  When riding home I took off the coat completely and rode in t-shirt, cardigan and vest.

People often ask if I'm going to be warm enough when I'm heading off on my bike.  The answer is that you produce a lot of heat when you're exercising,  and just a few layers to trap that heat go a long way. You might need two layers or two coats if you're walking, but one layer will do you just fine when you're biking.

*pro-tip when you're looking for bikes that are being regularly ridden at this time of year, look for bikes that are covered in salty grit.  Disregard any bike with a flat tire, and think twice about bikes with rusty chains.  I saw a lot of very very sad looking bike shaped objects which had clearly been abandoned at the Porter Sq T stop.

And on a completely unrelated note- It's not completely dark at 5pm !!!!  So exciting that the darkest days are behind us already!