Good for your Mr. Mercat! I love riding with all my buddies. Burrrrr...riding all winter in Kansas is quite the feat!
Now I feel like a wimp! Our group won’t ride if temp is below 38. :)
My God, what a bunch of sissies. That's about the temp you should simply be adding a layer and switching from your road shoes to your Lake boots. A windchill above -10 and it's a go. But you need to be home in about an hour, before the inner layers get too damp.