Stuff I like: Gloves

{NOTE:  This was ­supposed to post yesterday.  Due to an oddity in scheduling software, and my fumbling with it, the post stayed “in the cue.”  So here it is, a bonus for your Thursday morning.  Enjoy!}

Gloves are wonderful!

Summer gloves, that insulate me from some of the vibrations, open on the back, hands cooler and more comfortable.  I like just the least bit of palm padding, and of course, the terry fabric over the thumb.  I’m particularly fond of old-fashioned macramé backed gloves.  I wish I could still find the kind with a leather strap and buckle.  (I’m not the much of a fan of Velcro on Summer weight clothing.)

Mountain Bike Gloves, with full coverage of the fingers.  I use a pair made by Fox.  They amount to armor for the hands.  Carbon fiber plates over the knuckles and along the fingers protect against those tree and branch impacts.  The palms are tough synthetic (good for handling briers and stickers), and they are strong, light, and breathable.  It’s nice to come out of the woods with my hands unscathed.

Winter Gloves, with the ability to layer.  I like lightweight wool ones as liners.  On really cold days I use the liners inside mittens.  (In extra cold weather, I slip a pair of those chemical hand-warmers in between the mitts and the liners.)  Mittens aren’t as dexterous, but they have less surface area to radiate heat away.  Bar Mitts are s sort of mitten that your bike wears.  What a wonderful idea!  They keep the rain and cold out, block the wind, improve dexterity.  Pure genius!

Weather gloves, are ones that protect from water as well as cold.  I’m extremely fond of “water proof” gloves, with lots and lots of GoreTex™.  Dry is warm.  And I do ride in the rain!  Hands are vulnerable.  It’s not hard to find good rain jackets, rain pants, and capes, but finding a worthy pair of rain gloves, that shed the water and still keep you warm?  That’s a lot more difficult.    

On occasion, I have used the “small trash bag over the hands and lower arms trick.  It’s worth noting.  Part of the trick is to always have two or four extra Velcro reflector bands with you.  You slip the hands and lower arms into the bags (while wearing your Winter gloves, of course), and then use the bands to secure the bags in place.  Elegant, this is not…  but it’s effective!

I like gloves.  They make my life much more comfortable.  They help me to stay “on the bike” in some of the worst weather.

What one piece of equipment do you like most, depend on, or feel most enhances your riding experience?