Money well spent

For those of you spending your first winter on a bike, here are a couple of suggestions for winter gear. I'm not claiming that these are the best products in their category, but I've used them and they're really good stuff for the money.

Performance neoprene shoe covers ($30)

These puppies will keep your feet warm (when temps are above 30F) and dry. The inside has a fleece-like texture. If you buy these, get one size bigger than the one your normally use.
I put them on over my regular shoes and work really well if you combine them with wool socks, such as the DeFeet Blaze.

The UCVC folks posted recommendations for clothing, over at UC Vélo Café, for a full range of temperatures (read the comments).


Blackburn Mars 3.0 tail light ($15)

Seven LED's and three modes (constant, blinking and "chase"). Two of the LED´s and on the sides and are yellow. It comes with a clip-on thingy, so you can attach it to your clothes or helmet, as well as with the hardware that lets you attach the light to your seatpost. 2 AAA batteries included. It runs for 50 hours on steady mode, and 150 hours on blinking mode.
My favorite feature is that I can really believe that it's water-proof. And it seems to be made to last. In order to install the batteries you need to loosen three little screws and then pull the two sides apart quite hard. No snap-on, snap-off lousy attachment. The edges of the cover are covered by rubber (see pic). Having the three screws securing the two sides of the light also means that if you drop it by accident, it won't disintegrate into fifty little pieces all over the place.
Oh, and this light is very bright. A teammate who was riding behind me today asked me to "Please, please, for the love of God, turn it off, I'm having a seizure!!!" Which I took as a compliment.