If you spend your whole ride sweating, you can finish the ride as wet and cold as if you’d gone out in your drawers. Here’s how to solve it.

>>> The best waterproof mountain bike jackets for 2019

Work hard and you can end up just as wet from sweat on the inside of your jacket as from rain on the outside. Altura’s Ian Young offers some ideas…

1. Dressed to grill

What’s the problem?

Hopping straight out of the warm car or from your door it feels freezing cold, so you layer up. Five minutes into the ride and you’re boiling hot.

Solution

Get a thermometer installed outside your house and start building up a record (written or mental) of what you need to wear in certain conditions. If you drive, build up a log from your car’s external thermometer. It’ll still feel too cold at first, but grin and bear it for the first few minutes.

2. Hot under the collar

What’s the problem?

After half an hour of riding, the inside of your jacket feels so wet it’s like you’ve fallen in a puddle.

Solution

Assuming you haven’t fallen in a puddle, it’s your jacket that’s letting you down — really cheap ones aren’t worth the plastic they’re moulded from. Your perspiration has nowhere to evaporate to, so just condenses on the inside of your jacket giving you that clammy feeling. Invest in a decent jacket with loads of vents.

3. Under the shell

What’s the problem?

The top you’re wearing under your jacket gets clammy with sweat and stays that way.

Solution:

Wearing a normal everyday top like a cotton T-shirt is a very bad idea when riding. Sweat soaks into the fabric and can’t escape quickly enough. Wear a high-tech base layer, ideally long sleeve. Layering is the key to staying warm and dry, just make sure everything you wear is either a high-tech fabric or merino wool.