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Cycling and cold feet!

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This thread is now closed. Please contact Anna DUK, Ieva DUK or everydayupsanddowns if you would like it re-opened.
N

NickS

Member
Relationship to Diabetes
Type 2
Hi All,
Due to very dodgy kness, my exercise of choice is cycling. I'm trying really hard to go out every day. So far in 2022 I'm 15 for 15.
The last few days my feet have been soo cold, it's bordering on painful.
I have bought decent socks, have overshoes and wear decent shoes, but all to no avail.
Any suggestions from anyone?
Cheers
Nick
 
Hi Barry,
I have bought decent socks, have overshoes and wear decent shoes.
Just my feet.
 
How about getting a turbo trainer and cycling indoors where it is warm and dry.?
The advantage of a turbo trainer over an exercise bike is that you use a normal bike which you can return to outdoors when the weather is better.
And with apps like Zwift, can can be entertained, race, experience hills, do workouts, chat to others, …
 
Just wondering if you are aware that you can buy heated socks, some are "rechargeable", they are meant to be ideal for sports and other outdoor pursuits such as fishing, skiing, cycling, camping etc. They are not cheap, but could be useful to you. I've seen them on Amazon but I guess you could possibly find them in the outdoors type of shops - the ones who do tents, sleeping bags, 4 seasons stuff, ski outfits, rambling equipment and what-have-you (can you guess I can't think of any shop names right now! lol).
 
Make sure you have plenty of room in your shoes. If your toes are cramped the circulation will be worse. You can buy little sticky heated pads that go in your shoes that last 8 hours. Also be careful how you warm them up once your home. Warning them too quickly can cause chilblains and that makes things even worse. My feet get really cold really quickly… I once warmed them up with a hairdryer was in absolute agony !!
 
I was about to click the “Like” emoji for your comment @EmmaL76
Not because I like the agony you were in but because I like / agree with your message not to heat cold feet up too fast.

My understanding is that our blood vessels at our extremities shrink when they are cold. I guess this helps to push the blood to our vital organs. When they warm up again, the blood starts flowing and the blood vessels expand. If the blood vessels expand too fast, they burst. This is basically (in my simplistic brain’s way of thinking) what happens when we get chilblains. The pain is from the burst blood vessels. Weirdly, understanding the science, makes me want to avoid it even more. That said, every winter I experience one or two chilblains even after growing up with my Mum telling me not to crowd the fire because I’ll get chilblains.

The best way I can avoid them is trying to keep my feet warm. And, like with cold hands, remembering that, once they get cold, adding another layer will only insulate the coldness more.

Cold feet are worse than cold hands because the thickness of your socks depends upon the size of your shoes. A good fitting pair of shoes (which is equally important for cycling as for walking and running), does not have space for heated pads. So we need not go out with cold feet to start with and keep them moving.
 
janw said:
Just wondering if you are aware that you can buy heated socks, some are "rechargeable", they are meant to be ideal for sports and other outdoor pursuits such as fishing, skiing, cycling, camping etc. They are not cheap, but could be useful to you. I've seen them on Amazon but I guess you could possibly find them in the outdoors type of shops - the ones who do tents, sleeping bags, 4 seasons stuff, ski outfits, rambling equipment and what-have-you (can you guess I can't think of any shop names right now! lol).
Click to expand...
Thank you I'll have a look.
 
EmmaL76 said:
Make sure you have plenty of room in your shoes. If your toes are cramped the circulation will be worse. You can buy little sticky heated pads that go in your shoes that last 8 hours. Also be careful how you warm them up once your home. Warning them too quickly can cause chilblains and that makes things even worse. My feet get really cold really quickly… I once warmed them up with a hairdryer was in absolute agony !!
Click to expand...
Thanks Emma, I'll bear that in mind. I notice you are in the Midlands. Me too.
 
NickS said:
Hi All,
Due to very dodgy kness, my exercise of choice is cycling. I'm trying really hard to go out every day. So far in 2022 I'm 15 for 15.
The last few days my feet have been soo cold, it's bordering on painful.
I have bought decent socks, have overshoes and wear decent shoes, but all to no avail.
Any suggestions from anyone?
Cheers
Nick
Click to expand...
Getting back on topic.
Hi @NickS , for the past three years I've used battery heated insoles along with thick socks and they keep my feet from becoming too cold. There's a little fob with them that I can use to set three levels of heat or switch it off. I wear lightweight walking boots, but that's mainly because much of my cycling is off-road and it gets a bit muddy at times.
I also have battery heated gloves which are great at this time of year. The batteries for boots and gloves are rechargeable.
 
Thanks Dave,
I have ordered some and my batteries are on charge.
Thanks for the tip.
Cheers
Nick
 
Hepato-pancreato said:
Anybody recomend the insoles, socks, etc.... that are recharegeable. A reliable make please...
Click to expand...
I have bought and returned two pairs of battery heated socks. The first pair were £20.00, the second oair, £40.00. Both an absolute waste of money.
Sorry I can't offer a positive answer.
 
Hepato-pancreato said:
Anybody recomend the insoles, socks, etc.... that are recharegeable. A reliable make please...
Click to expand...
The heated insoles I bought from Amazon a few years ago and have proved reliable are labeled:
Ultrasport. Heated Thermosole Deluxe.
 
NickS said:
Hi All,
Due to very dodgy kness, my exercise of choice is cycling. I'm trying really hard to go out every day. So far in 2022 I'm 15 for 15.
The last few days my feet have been soo cold, it's bordering on painful.
I have bought decent socks, have overshoes and wear decent shoes, but all to no avail.
Any suggestions from anyone?
Cheers
Nick
Click to expand...
Hi Nick,
Do you clip in or use flat pedals?
I used to have exactly the same problem - even on a turbo trainer but found that while clipped in, ‘pulling’ up on every pedal stroke (or even just for a short burst), allowed the blood to flow back into my cold feet and warmed my feet back up!
Unfortunately, I don’t have a solution if you use flat pedals…
Hope that helps
A
 
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