But a little preparation goes a long way. The best way to fight hypothermia is to avoid it in the first place. This means we need to anticipate rather than react to cold. In other words, put on the balaclava before we feel cold. Plug in the electric vest or heated jacket liner before we feel cold. Do some isometric exercises before we feel cold. You get the idea. It's all about before rather than after.

By the time we actually feel cold, we will have lost considerable heat. Our body will have been working harder to maintain temperature (fatiguing in the process). Feeling cold is when the body can no longer meet the need.

This may sound obvious, but cooling normally happens so gradually that it can go unnoticed. By the time we notice, it's too late.

Becoming hypothermic (ie the early stages) means that we are losing more body heat than we are producing. It doesn't have to be very cold. You can become hypothermic at 60f in the rain if you're not properly dressed. All that is required is that we are losing more heat than we can produce. This is similar to a battery that is subject to a load that is higher than the charge that the alternator is providing. The battery will gradually drop in voltage.

Mild hypothermia has several undesirable effects. Most importantly, it will impact your judgement and alertness, which has a direct effect on your safety. It will also decrease your dexterity and sap some of your strength. Your reflexes will slow. You may feel tired, lethargic and, in the more advanced stages, lose your resolve to continue. If this happens, take notice. You need to stop and warm up. If you're shivering, you definitely need to stop!

When things get tough, we can:

• do isometric exercises while riding
• stop and do some vigorous exercises
• use hand and foot warmer disposable heat packs
• use hot water bottles

When things get tough we need to more agressively look around for effective solutions.