Although spring has arrived, it isn't a sure guarantee of warm weather. Mornings and evenings can still be quite chilly. Keep these tips handy for many months from now, when the really cold weather is here.

Below, you'll find excerpts from the excellent article included at www.yale.edu/cycling/t-winterwear.html on how to dress for success when biking in colder weather.

1. Hands

Keeping your hands warm is important, unless you don't feel like shifting gears or being able to turn a key in your door upon returning home. There are many types of gloves available. The warmest I know of are Pearl Izumi Thermadores, then Pearl Izumi Lobstermitts, then pretty much any warm gloves. The first two keep your fingers in pairs and are therefore a bit warmer. For rainy weather, nothing beats neoprene gloves, which are pretty cheap and can be found in watersport catalogs. Also, thin polypro or silk glove liners are an excellent way to beef up a pair of not-quite-warm-enough gloves.

2. Feet

Feet are a big problem. In case you haven't figured it out yet, they don't actually do much besides follow the pedals around. Most pedals are made of metal, and any engineer will tell you that metal is a good conductor of heat. So your feet are in trouble. Booties are a must, and the thicker they are, the better. Getting them a little bit too big is not a bad idea, for it allows you to put a sock over your shoe and inside the bootie. Also, don't wear cotton socks. You can also buy thin polypro sock liners pretty inexpensively. On cold days, three of these on each foot in addition to a bootie works nicely. Pearl Izumi makes what looks to be a nice warm bootie for about $50. If you want to do things cheaper, take a thick wool sock, cut a hole for the cleat, and beef the whole thing up with duct tape. The basic requirements are: something to keep the wind off and something to trap some heat.

3. Head

This is a bit easier: get a nice, warm hat. Earwarmers are also highly recommended (and add that little fashion touch to put you over the top). For really cold days, a balaclava will cover most of your face. Also, wear some glasses to keep the cold air out of your eyes.

4. The Rest: Torso and Legs

For the legs, wear tights. These can easily be layered, or you can put leg warmers or knee warmers under a pair of tights. Snug fitting long underwear works just fine if you prefer fruit-of-the-loom to pearlizumi. For the torso, long underwear is fine, especially worn in layers. A windbreaker is a must, preferably a waterproof one. These keep you amazingly warm, and are easy to put on and take off. Sometimes it's nice to have turtlenecks to keep the old collarbones warm. At least one layer should have pockets in the back for storing stuff.