I had found that I get cold easier on a recumbent than riding an upright in Winter. Is this because of higher speeds? Neck more exposed on a bent? What works for me is dressing with significantly more layers of clothing and especially to wear a neck gaitor and helmet cover. Keeps me warmer and slows me down. I ride in Sidi 6.6 mega shoes with dense, heavy wool socks and wear TT booties over the shoes until the mid 20's and then it is neoprene covers over the shoes. If really cold, I bring hot tea inside a double walled thermos and also a light down jacket for long rides. Being cold is terrible. I remember going over a mountain pass in Wyoming at 11 pm where there was a Grizzly mom and her cubs, it was 26 F and I did not have the courage to stop and put my cold gear on for the 40-50 mph descent. If I had put my down jacket on, my feet might have stayed warm. There is a lot of truth to keeping the whole body warm. I used to ride a lot in cold weather and I also used to hunt where you sit for hour upon hour in extremely cold temperatures. It is easy not to recognize when you are getting slightly cold. I start to see it on my power meter and HR. HR up and power down, paradoxically. As an experiment, take your body temperature during a ride in winter. Then, try tp bundle up even more. I bet your feet won't be as cold. Also, neoprene booties and the neoprene bearclaw thingies for your hands help. Early in the winter riding season is the hardest because it takes me time to get acclimated to the cold. I also never start a winter ride downwind because coming home into wind when tired and cold is the worst. Sorry for the long post....hope a few ideas
