MD Podiatrist Discusses How to Keep Feet Warm While Cycling in Winter 

“Often women will come into my office and say, ‘my feet are cold, I must have poor circulation.’ We’ll test their circulation and it’s fine; the problem is that their feet are wet,” says Dan Michaels, DPM. “As a baseline, your feet produce one pint of moisture—in the form of sweat—every day.” Exercise increases that amount, she adds. Riding creates much more evaporative cooling than running or walking, since zipping along at 15 miles per hour generates quite a draft. If your feet are wet—even with a sock and a shoe in between you and the wind—you’ll be feeling a chill in no time. 

So, if you have chronically cold feet, you probably have chronically wet feet. The easiest way to fix this problem is to change your socks, early and often. Dr. Michaels rides with a thin, wicking sock liner plus a warm pair of socks, and packs an extra set of socks in his jersey pockets. Halfway through the ride, he switches to the dry pair.