Gaining on Colder Weather Riding - Conquered it!

[bokobob]

Yesterday I went out for a ride and ended up doing 25 miles or so in fairly chilly weather..It was close to dark when I got back and the temp was in the low forties..not ALL that cold, by any means, but mighty chilly for this geezer....As I have only been riding again for a bit over a year, I did not do much cold weather riding last year at all and am in the process of coping with the cold as I definitely want to ride all winter if it is in the thirties or above..

I wore two pairs of spandex tights (Starter brand, WallyMart, $10 a pair) and XL and XXL so as to not feel overly compressed....
topped off with flannel lined jeans in a longer length leg than I would normally wear...kept the cuffs nice anc low..Legs kept very, very comfy...Might need chaps in weather another 10 degrees cooler, I imagine...

wore new Insulated and waterproof boots (only $30 at Walmart) and a pair of thick wool socks...Aaaaaah...much wamth and comfort..Got socks in camper section of store.

wore starter brand compression spandex shirt, plus alternating layers of flannel, windbreaker jacket, larger fleece jacket adn then outer hip length jacket...One more wool sweater would have made this very adequate layering just about perfect..

Gloves. Long gauntlet with thinsulate lining...adequate but not for long...note to file: Order hippo hands..

Face....Three quarter helmet with full face shield...very nice except lower cheeks and jaw got very cold....Seems like a spandex head 'sock' or neoprene whatchee is in order..

Nothing yet used of Electric/heated clothing/handgrips ..wanting to see how much comfort I can get from non-electric stuff first..

My opinion: Excellent improvements....Increase hand and face protection, add one more wool sweater or fleecy waist length jacket, and I'm there....

Any suggestions?

Thanks...