There should be a name for that first morning of the year - usually occuring around this time - when you step out of your front door and remember what wintry coldness feels like; it feels like your whole body is one huge, aching bruise with a giant bag of frozen peas on it. *Ah, so that's why I was looking forward to the summer so much last winter*, is the thought that usually follows.

Tragically, another thought which often follows is *there's no way I'm cycling in this weather*. It's a tragedy because this reluctance to cycle when it gets cold is one of the most misleading tricks the human brain can play on itself. The only bit of the hunch which is justifiable is that on a bike your head and hands will indeed get too cold against the hard wintry air, and for a few minutes your whole body likewise will feel a greater chill through effectively increasing the windspeed as you throw yourself against the breeze at 10-20 mph.

But each of these problems is manageable. Within about a minute of beginning your cycle journey your body warms up, due to the moderate effort of pedaling, so you literally no longer feel that colder breeze. Indeed, the former not only cancels out the latter, it actually makes you feel much warmer than you would have done otherwise.

This is what makes cycling, despite appearances, the warmest transport option in cold weather. Warmer than walking; warmer than shivering in a cold metal car; warmer than hanging around waiting on train platforms or at bus stops. For the price of one minute's bracing start, cycling effectively immunises you against the cold.

Albeit there are a couple of exceptions: your head and hands, which on a bike tend to stay stubbornly colder for longer. That's why I called this blog "Hat, Scarf and Gloves". These will be your salvation as a cyclist this winter; your great technological barrier against nature's discomforts. Put your gloves on and even the deepest frost will not bother your snug grip on the handlebars; put on your hat and scarf and your head will be the same warm buzzing happy place it is when you cycle in the summer.

Then, treat yourself to a healthy bit of schadenfreude as you cruise past the tensed-up, teeth-chattering hoards whose unfounded alarmism about being cold on two wheels has deprived them of the warmth of winter cycling.