{"id":204204,"date":"2025-11-18T17:42:09","date_gmt":"2025-11-18T17:42:09","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.welovecycling.com\/wide\/?p=204204"},"modified":"2025-11-18T17:42:09","modified_gmt":"2025-11-18T17:42:09","slug":"who-still-has-feeling-in-their-fingers-not-me","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.welovecycling.com\/wide\/2025\/11\/18\/who-still-has-feeling-in-their-fingers-not-me\/","title":{"rendered":"Who Still Has Feeling in Their Fingers? Not Me"},"content":{"rendered":"

Cycling in late autumn is an exercise in denial. And nowhere is that more obvious than in your gloves. You own six pairs. You\u2019ve tried layering. You\u2019ve stood in your hallway muttering, \u201cThese should be fine.\u201d<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

But then you ride.
\nAnd somewhere around kilometre four, it hits you:
\nYou cannot feel your hands.
\nYour fingers are staging a silent protest<\/strong>.
\nAnd your gloves are lying to your face.<\/p>\n

This is your guide to pretending everything\u2019s fine while your digits slowly disappear into the void.<\/p>\n

Stage one: Glove optimism<\/strong><\/h2>\n

It starts with hope.<\/p>\n

You pick the \u201cmid-weight\u201d pair, the ones with some<\/em> insulation but not too much<\/em>, because you\u2019re not a coward.
\nYou tell yourself:
\n\u2013 \u201cThey worked last year.\u201d
\n\u2013 \u201cI\u2019ll warm up once I\u2019m riding.\u201d
\n\u2013 \u201cThey\u2019re windproof… probably.\u201d<\/p>\n

You slip them on. They feel okay. You wiggle your fingers. Confidence builds.<\/p>\n

You are wrong.<\/p>\n

Stage two: The cold creeps in<\/strong><\/h2>\n

It\u2019s always the same two fingers. Usually the ring and pinky, the drama queens of the hand family.<\/p>\n

They go first. Quietly.
\nThen the index finger starts to ache.
\nYou pretend not to notice.<\/p>\n

Your brain says: We\u2019ll be fine!
\n<\/em>Your hand says: We\u2019ve made a terrible mistake.<\/em><\/p>\n

You try to wriggle some heat back into them.
\nYou look like a raccoon attempting jazz hands.<\/p>\n

Stage three: Alternative coping methods<\/strong><\/h2>\n

Desperate times call for desperate measures.<\/p>\n

\u2013 Tucking your hands under your armpits at red lights
\n\u2013 Flapping them around mid-ride like you’re trying to summon a pigeon
\n\u2013 Breathing hot air into your gloves<\/a> and immediately regretting the dampness
\n\u2013 Pretending shifting isn\u2019t that important anyway
\n\u2013 Holding your bars with two fingers and blind faith<\/p>\n

You develop entire coping narratives<\/strong>:
\n\u2013 \u201cThe nerves are just resting.\u201d
\n\u2013 \u201cFrostbite builds character.\u201d
\n\u2013 \u201cReal cyclists don\u2019t feel pain. Or fingers.\u201d<\/p>\n

You consider buying new gloves.
\nBut which kind? There are fifteen types.
\nYou panic and do nothing.<\/p>\n

Stage four: Social shame<\/strong><\/h2>\n

You meet the group at the caf\u00e9 stop.<\/a>
\nOne guy has ski gloves. One has lobster claws. One has battery-heated mitts that cost more than your car.<\/p>\n

\n
\"the-five-personalities-of-a-cyclist-at-a-cafe-stop-in-october\"\/<\/a><\/div>
\n Socialising and Culture<\/a>\n <\/div>\n
\n \n

The Five Personalities of a Cyclist at a Caf\u00e9 Stop in October<\/span><\/h3>\n <\/a>\n <\/div>\n <\/article>\n<\/div>\n

You ask, \u201cHow are your hands?\u201d<\/p>\n

They say, \u201cToasty!\u201d<\/p>\n

You smile.
\nYou cry inside.
\nYou use both hands to lift your coffee because your left one has entered hibernation mode<\/strong>.<\/p>\n

Stage five: Emotional frostbite<\/strong><\/h2>\n

You no longer feel the bars.
\nYou\u2019ve dropped a gel three times and didn\u2019t notice.
\nYou went to ring your bell and poked yourself in the face instead.<\/p>\n

You wonder: Will I ever feel again?
\n<\/em>Not just physically, but emotionally?<\/p>\n

You consider naming your fingers, just so you can say goodbye properly.
\nIndex, Middle, Alan, Greg\u2026 Godspeed.<\/p>\n

You make it home.
\nYou stand in your kitchen.
\nYou take off your gloves and stare at your pale, shrivelled claws.<\/p>\n

The thaw begins. It is excruciating.
\nYou scream silently.
\nYou question everything.<\/p>\n

And then, as the blood returns, you say the most cursed sentence in cycling:<\/p>\n

\u201cI think they were fine, actually.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Cycling in late autumn is an exercise in denial. And nowhere is that more obvious than in your gloves. You […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":99,"featured_media":194134,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[8162,334],"tags":[2668,5820,2306,8753],"global-categories":[3366],"class_list":["post-204204","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-explore-and-travel","category-socialising-and-culture","tag-cycling-fun","tag-cycling-gloves","tag-cycling-in-autumn","tag-cycling-in-cold-weather","global-categories-cycling"],"yoast_head":"\nWho Still Has Feeling in Their Fingers? Not Me - \u0160koda We Love Cycling<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Cycling in late autumn is an exercise in denial. And nowhere is that more obvious than in your gloves. You own six pairs. You\u2019ve tried layering. 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