no amount of socks can save you from a windy city winter

Everybody with a bike blog seems to be talking about this Reuter's article today. In our continuing effort to stay abreast of the carfree topic de jour, we're posting it, too. It talks about winter bike commutes in Chicago, alternating between shocking the reader with the miserable conditions and dedicated rider of the windy city and then pointing out how easy winter bike commutes are.

For the most part, there's nothing particularly interesting or new here; it's just another "wow, people ride bikes in the winter" story. We will highlight the lead paragraph, though:

Four pairs of socks, and Jackson Potter's feet were still icy blocks.
Riding his bicycle to work one Chicago winter morning, high school teacher Potter was too cold to go on. He stopped at a laundromat and asked if the owner could spare any socks.
"He gave me about 10 pairs. I put on four pairs, and my feet were still numb when I got to school," Potter said.

Layering is an effective way to stay warm (and, eventually, cool) while cycling. But packing four pair of socks into your shoes only cuts off circulation. Especially when your feet are already cold, this will bring them to a numbing freeze in no time. Fluffiness, air pockets, and space to wiggle are the the keys to warm feet. If one pair of warm socks along with a thin liner sock is not keeping your feet warm, consider switching from shoes to insulated boots.

Also, check out the Reuters Poll/Ad to the right of the text: woman's backside from butt to knee, whith two voting options- Too Thin or Never Too Thin. WTF?