The Toe Fist Revisited (Keeping Feet Warm for Winter Rides)

The Toe Fist article has been updated. It was originally posted in January '09. Since Then, the formula for keeping your feet warm on winter bike rides has been tweaked with a grocery bag layer between booty and shoe, not over the foot itself. Putting the bag over the foot has the potential for cutting off needed circulation, not to mention, makes for a slippery feel inside the shoe.

It's taken me about 15 years of white bloodless cold on-the-brink of frostbite bitten toes to figure out a process of getting dressed to keep my feet from turning into lifeless bricks on cold winter rides. It is much more effective than dancing like Beyonce’ on the side of the road. I’ve got friends who insist on a number of other comical solutions, like putting Saran wrap on their forefeet. After trying it, evening using the red color thinking it’d be hotter, I’m come to the conclusion that I’m not into the Saran Wrap foot fetish. It doesn’t solve the real problem and disrupts the foot-sock-shoe-pedal connection too much. Chemical toe warmers and foot beds work, but they are only a variable in the happy feet equation and require air to keep working their magic. The real key to keeping your feet warm in the winter is maintaining good blood flow in your piggies. It’s science dammit!! Everything else is just icing. Dedicated winter cycling shoes work fine, but snug them or regular cycling shoes up too tight and no amount of SIDI Italian leather goodness is going to get your core body heat to reach the ends of your pistons. So how do you keep air in your shoe and avoid cutting off your circulation? The toe fist my friend…the toe fist.

Prior to putting my feet in my shoes, I make a fist with my toes and then lightly cinch up the straps/laces. Combine this with some or all of the other bright ideas out there, even dancing and singing the chorus to “Single Ladies” and you’ll be golden. The downfall is that, well duh, your shoes aren’t on tight. However, you’re not trying to win a summer crit sprint or make the holeshot at the local MTB series. I have tested my theory through cyclocross season and on both road and mountain bike rides this winter, works every time. The longest ride I’ve had so far has been nearly 3 and a half hours, plenty for winter. Cinder block feet are no longer the reason I start heading home. Chances are some other ailment will get me first; such as being too out of shape to ride more than 3 hours, frozen water bottles or my suspension fork busting a seal.

Here’s how I get dressed for winter and implement the foot fist technique using embrocation, winter cycling underwear, Toastie Toes and winter booties.

1 Starting naked, grab your warm weather cycling underwear, a towel, your cold & wet conditions cycling embrocation and your thickest warmest newest winter hiking style socks. Go to the bathroom. I don’t mean just go there, go there and do your business. Trust me this is the best step one ever.

2 Next, don warm weather cycling underwear. This is the best step 2 ever.

3 Standing on the towel in your skivvies apply embrocation on your legs, feet, toes, forearms. Use whatever is left on your lower back. It’ll feel like magic fingers mid-ride. I won’t get into all the details with embrocation, but there’s a reason you put on underwear and went to the bathroom first. There are few things in life more painful than accidently causing your junk to catch fire in the middle of nowhere because you dredged your underwear through burning hot chili-pepper embrocation an hour earlier. Do yourself a favor, when you’re finished wash your hands with soap and keep your hands off the giblets, out of your eyes and away from other tender areas for a while.

4 Put on those socks. Affix your Toastie Toes if you got ‘em.

5 Put on the rest of your winter cycling related gear except for your shoes.

6 Put on your cycling shoes, but do not lace or buckle.

7 Make the biggest fist you can with your foot inside the shoe.

8 Starting with the one closest to your toes and with your toe still in fist mode do all the straps and buckles on your shoes. You should be able to wiggle your piggies inside your shoe and your shoe should be relatively secure on your foot.

9 Repeat with the other shoe.

10 Put a plastic grocery bag over each shoe and lightly wrap the excess around your ankles.

11 Put on your warm winter weight cycling booties and tuck the excess bag into your bootie.

Ride my friend. Ride. Unless you’re in freaking Siberia, Alaska or somewhere north of the Upper Peninsula of Michigan, you feet will no longer be the reason you come home from a winter bike ride.

I Know Cyclists Can’t Be Serial Killers, So Yes We Will Stay For Dinner

“Yes, we will stay for dinner.” That should be your response any and every time one of your riding buddies invites you to come to their place for dinner after a ride, especially if the ride ends in front of their house. That is also the answer you should expect if you extend such an invitation. Of course you should offer to chop veggies, set the table, and pour water. You do not need to take a shower, but washing your face and hands might be a nice gesture. If they offer up the shower, I’ll let you draw that line. Eating at a friend’s house and being naked in a friend’s house are miles apart as far as a judgment call goes. So, maybe just take a hit of the deodorant you keep in your bag. You should never turn a post-ride dinner invitation down.

There is nothing going on in your life after a bike ride that’ll be better than having dinner with friends. Nada. Sex? Yeah right. Name one time you had sex when you got home after a ride. I’ve been riding bikes for like 15 years and never once got laid after I got home from a ride. After a ride all you want is food, a chair and a comfy pair of pants. Guess what? That’s exactly what a post-ride dinner invite is all about. Well, maybe not the pants. Last night they popped the question. My wife and I got the invite from people we rode with. My wife was reluctant. Me? I already slipped my pants over my chamois, locked my bike on the roof rack and dug a ball cap out of my bag. “We have a lot of food at home. Why don’t we just head home?” She reasoned. “Honey, they saw me lock the bike to the car. I think at this point they’re expecting us.” I tossed back. Maybe it’s something catholically polite engrained in our brains from living in Wisconsin, but for some reason we have a hard time accepting impromptu invitations. It’s almost like we feel that others shouldn’t go through trouble for us. Seriously, where’s the trouble in dinner. Its two extra plates, glasses and napkins. At the most, they won’t have leftovers for lunch the following day. For us, what was at home that was better than good conversation with friends, a chance to see their kitchen renovation progress, a big salad and a giant bowl of pesto pasta with veggies and faux-chicken? As funny as Cougar Town, Glee and Modern Family are, we do have a DVR. Or, maybe this is precisely the reason I’ve never had sex after a ride. Nawwww. I doubt it.

Sure, there are some weird people that ride bikes. What if “that guy” invites you over? You should do it. Yes. Maybe it’s your chance to get past the lazy eye and the purple helmet cover. You’re a cyclist. You’re adventurous. You’ve probably ridden down a dead end road or taken a goat path trail just to see where it goes. So, just think of a post-ride dinner invite like an unknown trail or road. I have yet to be disappointed by following either of those routes on a road or mountain bike ride. Bet you that odd bird is a great cook. Bet you their dog will love you. Ten bucks says there are chocolate chip cookies and the Tour of Flanders saved on the DVR. Your not thinking the worst could happen are you? Really? C’mon. Cyclists can’t be lunatic serial killers. If you ride bikes and have even a semblance of a regular professional occupation, between sleeping, eating, training and bike maintenance there is no time left in the day for successful secret evil real-life SAW 4 type horror movie plotting. Trust me, if you accept a dinner invitation from a cycling buddy, your feet, still in your Sidis, will not end up washing ashore on a beach in Vancouver.

The Toe Fist

It’s taken me about 15 years of white bloodless cold on-the-brink of frostbite bitten toes to figure out a process of getting dressed to keep my feet from turning into lifeless bricks on cold winter rides.  It is much more effective than dancing like Beyonce’ on the side of the road.  I’ve got friends who insist on a number of other comical solutions, like putting Saran wrap their forefeet.  After trying it, evening using the red color thinking it’d be hotter, I’m come to the conclusion that I’m not into the Saran Wrap foot fetish.  It doesn’t solve the real problem and disrupts the foot-sock-shoe-pedal connection too much.  Chemical toe warmers and foot beds work, but they are only a variable in the happy feet equation and require air to keep working their magic.  The real key to keeping your feet warm in the winter is maintaining good blood flow in your piggies.  It’s science dammit!!  Everything else is just icing.  Dedicated winter cycling shoes work fine, but snug them or regular cycling shoes up too tight and no amount of SIDI Italian leather goodness is going to get your core body heat to reach the ends of your pistons.  So how do you keep air in your shoe and avoid cutting off your circulation?  The toe fist my friend…the toe fist. 

Prior to putting my feet in my shoes, I make a fist with my toes and then lightly cinch up the straps/laces.  Combine this with some or all of the other bright ideas out there, even dancing and singing the chorus to “Single Ladies” and you’ll be golden.  The downfall is that, well duh, your shoes aren’t on tight.  However, you’re not trying to win a summer crit sprint or make the holeshot at the local MTB series.  I have tested my theory through cyclocross season and on both road and mountain bike rides this winter, works every time.  The longest ride I’ve had so far has been nearly 3 and a half hours, plenty for winter.  Cinder block feet are no longer the reason I start heading home.  Chances are some other ailment will get me first; such as being too out of shape to ride more than 3 hours, frozen water bottles or my suspension fork busting a seal. 

Here’s how I get dressed for winter and implement the foot fist technique using embrocation, winter cycling underwear, Toastie Toes and winter booties.

1 Starting naked, grab your warm weather cycling underwear, a towel, your cold & wet conditions cycling embrocation and your thickest warmest newest winter hiking style socks.  Go to the bathroom.  I don’t mean just go there, go there and do your business.  Trust me this is the best step one ever. 

2 Next, don warm weather cycling underwear.  This is the best step 2 ever.

3 Standing on the towel in your skivvies apply embrocation on your legs, feet, toes, forearms.  Use whatever is left on your lower back.  It’ll feel like magic fingers mid-ride.  I won’t get into all the details with embrocation, but there’s a reason you put on underwear and went to the bathroom first.  There are few things in life more painful than accidently causing your junk to catch fire in the middle of nowhere because you dredged your underwear through burning hot chili-pepper embrocation an hour earlier.  Do yourself a favor, when you’re finished wash your hands with soap and keep your hands off the giblets, out of your eyes and away from other tender areas for a while. 

4 Put on those socks.  Affix your Toastie Toes if you got ‘em. 

5 Put on the rest of your winter cycling related gear except for your shoes.

6 If you’re into wrapping your toes with Saran Wrap, do it now.  Then, put on a shoe. 

7 Make the biggest fist you can with your foot inside the shoe. 

8 Starting with the one closest to your toes and with your toe still in fist mode do all the straps and buckles on your shoes.  You should be able to wiggle your piggies inside your shoe and your shoe should be relatively secure on your foot.

9 Repeat with the other shoe.

10 Put on your warm winter weight cycling booties.

 Ride my friend.  Ride.  Unless you’re in freaking Siberia, Alaska or somewhere north of the Upper Peninsula of Michigan, you feet will no longer be the reason you come home from a winter bike ride.