# Do you find riding in the cold harder? Why?



## MB1 (Jan 27, 2004)

This weekend we got in 150 miles (which isn't all that much for us) but it seemed pretty hard to me. The riding temps were between the high teens and low 30's; I don't think it ever got much above freezing (if indeed it ever got above freezing). The winds were 10-20mph; again not all that bad but it was tough riding.

Was it all the clothes we were wearing? Is there extra rolling resistance when tires are cold? Am I just getting old?

How do you deal with cold weather riding (looks like this weekend will be just as cold as last weekend but after the frigid temps we are getting this week it may feel a lot warmer  )?

Talk to me.....

MB1
Getting old?!?


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## Dave Hickey (Jan 27, 2002)

I find it harder for sure. I've always said that I ride 9 months of the year because I love it and 3 months because I have to..

Most of it is mental...I hate cold weather... 

some other reasons:

1. I have a very hard time dressing for the conditions. I'm either too cold or too hot. 
2. Since I don't sweat as much, I don't drink as much and I bonk more in the winter.


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## FB296 (Jul 20, 2004)

I find my motivation is not there. I enjoy a nice warm, if not hot, day to ride. I have good gear to ride until it is ~25 F, but it is hard for me to get out there and do it.

-Mark


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## filtersweep (Feb 4, 2004)

I hate the feeling of tights--- they just feel slow. I was going to crack a joke about the cold air holding more oxygen, and that I ride faster, but it is not true at all. I find the worse the weather, the more I prefer mountain biking.



MB1 said:


> This weekend we got in 150 miles (which isn't all that much for us) but it seemed pretty hard to me. The riding temps were between the high teens and low 30's; I don't think it ever got much above freezing (if indeed it ever got above freezing). The winds were 10-20mph; again not all that bad but it was tough riding.
> 
> Was it all the clothes we were wearing? Is there extra rolling resistance when tires are cold? Am I just getting old?
> 
> ...


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## Reynolds531 (Nov 8, 2002)

*10% more wind resistance*

Cold air is denser and creates more wind resistance. 32 F air is about 10% denser than 80 F air and creates about 10% more wind resistance. The extra bulk of the clothes exacerbates the effect. My solution is that I ride so slowly that wind resistance doesn't matter. I think a bigger effect is that the winter clothes is constricting. Also, the cold air is very dry and every breathdehydrates you out more than you realize. There may be some physiological effects of having a cold face. The body does weird stuff when the face gets cold. I don't know if riding bike in cold weather can cause teh "diving reflex"-- parasypatietic activation resulting in slower heart rate and constriction of peripheral blood vessels


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## Reynolds531 (Nov 8, 2002)

*Some reserach on cold face effect*

Charles E. Riggs Jr.1 , Dewayne J. Johnson1, Barbara J. Konopka1 and Robert D. Kilgour1

(1) Department of Movement Science and Physical Education, The Florida State University, 32306 Tallahassee, FL, USA 

Accepted: 8 July 1981 

Summary The heart rate responses of physically untrained men to exercise with and without facial cooling were determined. Cold wind (10‡ C, 6.5 m·s−1, or 2‡ C, 6.5 m·s−1) was directed at the faces of the subjects during a 16 min bout of progressively intense exercise. The 10‡ C wind resulted in a significant (p<0.05) lowering of heart rate that appeared to be associated with a decline in forehead temperature at 4, 6, and 8 min of exercise. No differences were observed for blood pressure or rectal temperature. The significant (p<0.05) reduction in heart rate with the 2‡ C cold wind did not appear to be associated with changes in facial temperature. The 2‡ C wind also resulted in a persistent peripheral vasoconstriction (p<0.05). The results suggest that the heart rate response to facial cooling during exercise is mediated not through a reflex associated with increased stroke volume but rather via a central thermoregulatory response.


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## Doggity (Mar 10, 2006)

Yes indeedy, for the following reasons: 1.)Clothing issues. Don't have a lot of specialized cold weather riding togs yet, so as another post has said, I'm either too cold or too hot.
The added bulk of the regular winter clothes doesn't help.
2.)When it's cold, it's usually really breezy, to downright gusts and squalls, at least out here in NM. Doesn't help.
3.)Cold air is not only denser, it's also bone dry in New Mexico. Not pleasant-the skin on my face actually breaks out in angry blotches, if I ride too long in this.
4.)I think it's just harder to relax in the saddle when you're body is tensed up even a little, trying to fend off the cold. All of these factors add up, or so I humbly submit....and yes, you are getting older. Now that I'm in my grumpy 6th decade, that's probably the biggest factor of all. I'd probably barely notice all this, in my 20's.


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## Reynolds531 (Nov 8, 2002)

*Also harder to breath*

Fontanari, Pierre, Henri Burnet, Marie Caroline Zattara-Hartmann, and Yves Jammes. Changes in airway resistance induced by nasal inhalation of cold dry, dry, or moist air in normal individuals. J. Appl. Physiol. 81(4): 1739-1743, 1996. Nasal inhalation of cold (4°C) dry air or of only dry air significantly increased baseline resestance value 21%, throughout the 15-min test periods. The response to cold was significantly accentuated when the air temperature was lowered to 10°C (42%). . It is concluded that the activation of cold receptors or osmoreceptors in the nasal mucosa induces protective bronchoconstrictor responses in normal individuals.


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## MB1 (Jan 27, 2004)

I did notice that when I flipped my wheel from the 15 to the 16 cog riding was a whole lot easier and in fact we seemed to speed up.

Hmmmmm.....I've heard about some sort of device that changes cogs without the rider getting off the bike and removing the rear wheel, I'll have to investigate.


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## bigbill (Feb 15, 2005)

About ten years ago, I did several 100-130 mile rides with a friend that was training for PBP. The rides were in cold weather (35-40F) in coastal South Carolina. They were the toughest rides I did that year. The extra clothing and the fact that I didn't drink or eat enough coupled with headwinds just sucked the life out of me. When I lived in Virginia, I frequently commuted in temps around 35 degrees. It didn't bother me, it was a little over an hour each way with a warm shower at either end. My new home in Washington State will be the same with a little added bonus rain. Time to start watching the sales on winter clothing.


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## The Walrus (Apr 2, 2000)

Being in SoCal, I'm not gonna embarrass myself by complaining of the bitter cold, the snow and ice, the search for SPD-compatible mukluks, etc. The one real issue I have when the temps drop is breathing. Any time I'm riding, my nose runs and runs and stops up. Any time it's cold, my nose runs and runs and stops up. Which means that if I'm riding faster than a walking pace, I'll be breathing through my mouth, sucking down cold, dry air and feeling my throat getting raw. Which probably has something to do with why I've been hacking and wheezing the past 3 or 4 weeks....


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## undies (Oct 13, 2005)

I haven't really noticed a big weather-related difference, although "cold" is relative. Cold weather here is temps in the 40s and low-50s (F). I'm still wearing shorts when I go for a recreational ride. 

Pedaling has been a little harder lately, yes, but I attributed that more to the extra pounds I put on while enjoying fine holiday snacks. It's pretty natural to put on extra pounds in the winter, and I wonder if that could be adding to the perception that many of you are noticing? Just a theory.


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## ChuckUni (Jan 2, 2003)

filtersweep said:


> I hate the feeling of tights--- they just feel slow. I was going to crack a joke about the cold air holding more oxygen, and that I ride faster, but it is not true at all. I find the worse the weather, the more I prefer mountain biking.


Ditto on the Mtn biking....the slower speeds help to keep you warm and I love frozen trails. We had freezing rain here a couple days back and it made parts of the trails slick ice. Not fun, especially when it's sometimes hard to see coming. Fell on my arse and gave that up for a few days until they are back to "normal". I need to buy a set of Nokians at some point, but it's very rare that I need them.

My road speeds are def slower when it's cold....and I tend to shorten the long distance rides a good bit. I also tend to take the hilly routes and seems to help me stay warmer overall.


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## MB1 (Jan 27, 2004)

undies said:


> I haven't really noticed a big weather-related difference, although "cold" is relative. Cold weather here is temps in the 40s and low-50s (F). I'm still wearing shorts when I go for a recreational ride.
> 
> Pedaling has been a little harder lately, yes, but I attributed that more to the extra pounds I put on while enjoying fine holiday snacks. It's pretty natural to put on extra pounds in the winter, and I wonder if that could be adding to the perception that many of you are noticing? Just a theory.


I've lost a bit of unneeded weight this year and we have been riding more than enough to stay in shape. 

Normally I enjoy riding in the cold, perhaps it is just that winter is arriving so late and so hard this year......


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## daneil (Jun 25, 2002)

MB1 said:


> perhaps it is just that winter is arriving so late and so hard this year......



This has been the hardest part for me this year. I've taken a vow of a trainerless winter so I've been outside every weekend and commuting everyday. The problem is that on the east coast _"winter"_ weather took so long in coming I was kind of caught off guard. Last weekend I went out for a little over 2 hours and at first I was surprised at how cold it was, it took a min for me to remind myself that it was Feb 3rd and that it was supposed to be cold.


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## bas (Jul 30, 2004)

What do you use for gloves?

I can barely survive 1 hour with gloves padded biking gloves, wind blockers,and lobsters over top off the other 2.






MB1 said:


> This weekend we got in 150 miles (which isn't all that much for us) but it seemed pretty hard to me. The riding temps were between the high teens and low 30's; I don't think it ever got much above freezing (if indeed it ever got above freezing). The winds were 10-20mph; again not all that bad but it was tough riding.
> 
> Was it all the clothes we were wearing? Is there extra rolling resistance when tires are cold? Am I just getting old?
> 
> ...


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## MB1 (Jan 27, 2004)

bas said:


> What do you use for gloves?


Windblocker outer, 1 or 2 fleece liners and a chem-pack. Good for at least 6 hours once the heat packs kick in.


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## Meat Foot (Jul 13, 2005)

MB1 said:


> How do you deal with cold weather riding (looks like this weekend will be just as cold as last weekend but after the frigid temps we are getting this week it may feel a lot warmer  )?


I prefer it to be cold, below 30 for these parts PNW, and dry, than 40 and raining. It is that extra shell layer I dislike, the sound of it, the fact that sweat stays in no matter how I vent it. Sorry for the awkward sentences  . Without rain, I find a thin poly-pro top and bottom adequate with 100 wt fleece pants and a windblocker jacket down to at least the low 20s. I like my full finger insulated gloves, and need to investigate (invest) heat packs for the hands and feet. I also subscribe to the layering philosophy. :thumbsup:


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## Fixed (May 12, 2005)

*ditto*



Dave Hickey said:


> I find it harder for sure. I've always said that I ride 9 months of the year because I love it and 3 months because I have to..
> 
> Most of it is mental...I hate cold weather...
> 
> ...


Same here. I hate having to ensure I have all the extra clothes clean, located; the extra time it takes to put them on. I much prefer to go with socks, shorts, and jersey. 

All the extra clothes really slow you down, I think. I've found that with a jacket flapping around, I'm about 5 mph slower on top speed down a long steep descent. That's huge.

I hate getting all sweaty on the climbs (big ones here) and then freezing on the descents.

I hate extra debris on the road.

Sometimes I actually dehydrate worse that in the summer, as I don't think to drink, or it's more inconvenient.

Bike gets torn up worse from junk on the road.

Darkness that usually accompanies cold weather periods is much worse.

Can't wait for warm. Yes, winter is for maintaining momentum.


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## MarkS (Feb 3, 2004)

MB1 said:


> .
> 
> Normally I enjoy riding in the cold, perhaps it is just that winter is arriving so late and so hard this year......


I was riding outside until I got sick two weeks ago. Now, I am OK, but I just could not get on the bike yesterday or today. I am climbing up the walls. My wife, who usually tries to talk me out of riding when it is cold or rainy or dark, said to me this evening: "You really need to get outside and ride." She is right.


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## MB1 (Jan 27, 2004)

MarkS said:


> I was riding outside until I got sick two weeks ago. Now, I am OK, but I just could not get on the bike yesterday or today. I am climbing up the walls. My wife, who usually tries to talk me out of riding when it is cold or rainy or dark, said to me this evening: "You really need to get outside and ride." She is right.


We really need to get together and ride again fairly soon. 

Yes, I know you aren't in our kind of shape right now but we could take it easy for 35 miles or so.

Thurmont or Emmitsburg towards Gettysburg and back? Just let us know (I am not at the market this month so any weekend.....).


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## Slim Chance (Feb 8, 2005)

I find that riding in the cold makes it harder for my muscles warm up and relax. Even if I'm not cold, I am more ridgid (rhymes with frigid) and it saps some of my strength. As someone else above stated, a stuffed nose makes it harder to breath. Lastly, your body must be burning energy to stay warm that might otherwise be used for biking.


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## Pablo (Jul 7, 2004)

MB1 is talking smack, I love it. You can just say it, dude. We're sissies. Wait, I mean, they're sissies--not me. No, I guess we're all sissies--including me, after two hours.


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## tarwheel2 (Jul 7, 2005)

I agree with the others about it being harder to ride in the cold. What I dislike the most about winter is the lack of daylight, and worse visibility. My time to ride on the weekdays is after work, so I am relegated to spin classes once the days become too short. Another frustration is the wind, which is generally much worse and uncomfortable in winter. There are some advantages to riding in the winter though:

- I don't like hot, humid weather. So riding on cold days (30s, 40s) is much more enjoyable for me than 90 degrees and up.
- Many of the group rides are more enjoyable because everyone slows down and we can talk more and appreciate the ride. Most of us figure that we are accomplishing a lot just by showing up, so there is very little of the macho posturing over who can climb the big hill the fastest or get to the county line first.
- Water or other drinks stay cold.
- Those of us who tough out the winter are in much better shape when warm weather arrives and the softies start riding again. I can actually beat some of the softies on climbs for several weeks in the spring until they get in shape again.
- On those rare days when the weather is nice in winter, riding is an absolute pleasure. Some of my best rides are on balmy winter days because it feels so great after suffering through the cold and wind. I was lucky to get a day like that around my birthday in mid-January and rode close to 60 miles. We got lost and added an extra 10 miles to the route and I was actually glad for it.


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## Ridgetop (Mar 1, 2005)

I can't really add much that hasn't been said already but I find it somewhat harder. This is the first winter we've really been riding a lot it's taken some psychological effort. It helped that we went out and paid a small fortune on form fitting softshell stuff. I no longer feel like the Marshmellow Man when I ride. We've enjoyed the rides but not as much as the summer by any means.


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## Spinfinity (Feb 3, 2004)

*I was pondering this same thing Sunday.*

I was doing the cycling version of limping along and started wondering why it was so hard to maintain speed at 20f. Like you, I was riding fixed and noticed that when I started going up hill my cadence slowed less and I felt much more normal than I'd felt going down hill or on flat land. I concluded that for me it was mental, the drive to go faster was lessened because it also meant getting colder. Reading some of the previous posts about cold face and wind chill also make sense with what I experienced and make me feel like less of a wimp. 

Your observation about switching to an easier cog also rings true for me. I decided to take off my 44 tooth chain ring and put on a 42 or 39 for the winter. Haven't decided which yet, but this thread makes me more inclined to do it.


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## tarwheel2 (Jul 7, 2005)

One other problem I've found with winter riding is the potential for knee injuries. I've found that I really need to cover my knees and warm up well before riding hard on cold days. I've learned that lesson the hard way after injuring my knees on rides where the group takes off too fast before warming up. I generally don't ride with guys who like to hammer during winter for that reason.


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## JeffS (Oct 3, 2006)

For me, the colder it gets, the slower I am. Not by huge amounts, but noticable.

I was considerably faster this morning at 45F than yesterday at 17F.


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## buck-50 (Sep 20, 2005)

my 2 cents-

1 when it's cold out, I'm riding less frequently- it gets dark at 4:30 in the depths of winter around here, so I can't exactly get any good rides in during the week. 

1.5 when it's cold out in WI, it's often REALLY cold out, so I'm not riding at all. The difference between riding in 20 degree weather and riding in 5 degree weather is brutal.

2 when it's cold out, chances are pretty good I've got ice or snow to deal with, so I'm going to be riding more carefully. I've hit enough patches of black ice to learn that one.

3 when it's cold out, I've got a lot less chance of ever feeling like I'm warmed up- my muscles never get loose. 

4 Cold air just plain hurts. I find myself slowing down just to lessen the effects of the wind chill blowing through whatever "windproof" jacket and gloves I'm wearing...

5 With no leaves to slow it down, the winter wind really just whips up faster.


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## RoadLoad (Jan 18, 2005)

Thank you all for making me feel better about my first winter of commuting. I've been riding the same route I do in the warmer seasons but, I've been going slower, seeming to work harder and caught the nasiest cold I've had in years. I thought I was just getting old. Hearing you all grouse about the cold makes me feel much better. I especially like to hear about people either being too hot or too cold. Figuring out the right layers has been the hardest thing for me. Thank you.


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## Hjalti (Feb 26, 2004)

*Overcoming inertia*

For me the hard part is overcoming inertia, and just getting out to ride. Once I'm out, life is pretty good.


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## MB1 (Jan 27, 2004)

I've been thinking about this some more and have come to the conclusion that lately I had been focusing on feeling cold and uncomfortable in all the clothes I've been wearing instead of just having fun on the bicycle in my favorite time of the year.

So I have decided to focus again on having fun while riding and to ride naked! 

Well; I guess I won't try the no clothes thing but a big part of having the miles fly by is to have a good attitude and not worry about the conditions so it is time for a little mid-winter attitude adjustment.

MB1
Adjustable
But fully clothed


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## Pablo (Jul 7, 2004)

Ride naked? I hope you don't have a white seat. That could get ugly.


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## Dave Hickey (Jan 27, 2002)

MB1 said:


> So I have decided to focus again on having fun while riding and to ride naked!
> 
> 
> MB1
> ...



Please _don't_ post a pic


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## MB1 (Jan 27, 2004)

Pablo said:


> Ride naked? I hope you don't have a white seat. That could get ugly.


Ha!

Everyone knows I am am Brooks Man.

MB1
Natural


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## MarkS (Feb 3, 2004)

Back in the saddle again.

After two weeks of sickness, I was ready to ride again this week. Then it was 9 degrees Fahrenheit on Monday, same on Tuesday and I had a dentist's appointment yesterday. I wimped out, inertia got the best of me. But, today dawned bright and sunny. The thermometer at home had risen to 18 degrees by the time I was ready to leave home. So, I did it. I rode to work for the first time in three weeks. My 15 mile ride was about 10 minutes slower than usual (not only was it cold, I had some headwinds), but otherwise felt great. By the time I got to the office it was 23 degrees and I was feeling kind of warm (I wore one layer too many). 

I feel great today. My message to all of those who are suffering from cabin fever because of the cold: Just do it. Get out and ride. Even if you are frozen by the end of the ride, you will feel better. The trainer is a very poor substitute for an outside ride.


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## Duckman (Jul 21, 2005)

Yesterday here north of Atlanta it was 64* and blue sky. Can you imagine? Of course another cold front has passed thru now... Still sissy cold compared to the real stuff up north. Took off at noon for long ride and was out in only arm/kneewarmers to begin with. Heaven.


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## Run1stBike2nd (Oct 28, 2005)

Duckman said:


> Yesterday here north of Atlanta it was 64* and blue sky. Can you imagine? Of course another cold front has passed thru now... Still sissy cold compared to the real stuff up north. Took off at noon for long ride and was out in only arm/kneewarmers to begin with. Heaven.


Around here, it warmed up to a whopping 15 yesterday. Temps. might climb above freezing by NEXT weekend. Can you say "cabin fever?"

Like many others, I slow things down in the cold weather to help stay warm. I whip out the Mtb to accomplish this. However, the main reason I ride slower in cold weather is b/c my lungs don't care for the cold air. If I try to ride hard in the cold, I'll sound like I'm going to hack up a lung from all the coughing I'll do when I'm done riding.


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## haroldson5 (Oct 1, 2006)

With the proper clothing and pacing, single digit temps are quite manageable. Oddly, the key is not staying warm, it's avoiding sweating too much. If you aren't cold at the start of the ride, go back inside and remove a layer. For the hands at those temps, mittens are key.

As far as reasons we are slower in the cold check out ice bike, there's an interesting article I've mentioned before. Denser air and bulkier clotheing are the primary reasons it attributes to slower riding speeds in the cold.


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## RoadLoad (Jan 18, 2005)

For my latest effort to find the optimal winter riding jacket I took my 18 year old son's recently retired Eddie Bauer XL windblock fleece jacket (very dense, heavy weight fleece. But light weight in terms on number of ounces) to a tailor and had him trim down the torso and sleeves to fit me better and be more fitted overall, less boxy. 

I rode with it for the first time this morning in 12 degree temperatures. It was a great improvement. Unlike a LS jersey and shell that helped with keeping the sweat levels down but provides very little actual warmth, the new (old...) jacket seemed to manage the just sweat fine and keep me warm as well. I never got cold and clammy which is often the way I'd get with just the shell or with too many layers.

The "project" I brought to the tailor was not particularly well received (fortunately I have a long history with him over the years so he didn't say no). From his perspective, what I asked him to do is twice the amount of time it would take him to do a suit. Anyway, he did it for $60 plus a $20 tip. 

Given what we can spend on gear and not get it right, I think I have scored. The jacket does what I am looking and it fits great.


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## Pablo (Jul 7, 2004)

MB1 said:


> Ha!
> 
> Everyone knows I am am Brooks Man.
> 
> ...


Good choice. That'll blend right in. Now, if they only made a brown chamois . . .


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