Riding in cold weather

A dull, grey weekend, overcast skies, temperature in the 50s...perfect for testing my cold weather riding gear in preparation for the Fall Colors trip next weekend! On Saturday, I attached the inner lining to my leather jacket and went for a ride on E. Miami River Rd. I immediately realized that my jeans offered very little protection from the cold, and the thin socks I was wearing didn't help much either. The jacket fared better, keeping out most of the wind. I also had 2 layers on underneath the jacket, which probably helped. However, my full-finger gloves are too short to cover the jacket sleeve and I could feel a cold draft sneaking up my arms. At 55mph on a motorcycle, 50°F feels like 40°F after factoring in wind-chill, so I was definitely under-equipped. After about 2 hours of riding, I decided to head back home, take a hot shower and go shopping for some thermals.

At Wal-Mart, I found heavy-duty men's thermals in Sporting Goods, with all the hunting and camping equipment. I also bought a pair of heavy woolen socks. I wanted to get thin neoprene or silk glove liners but couldn't find any there. Sunday was more of the same weather but I felt much better equipped, with the woolen socks, a layer of thermals underneath my usual riding clothes and an extra t-shirt. I went for a short ride on KY route 8 along the river and it wasn't bad at all. No, I wasn't warm and toasty (for that I'd have to get a heated vest and grips!) but I wasn't uncomfortably cold either. I'm hoping to find glove liners this week to take care of the problem with air going up the jacket sleeve.

I think I'm all set for the trip next weekend. I installed the sissy-bar and luggage rack on the bike (pictures soon!) and the motorcycle luggage looks good, though I haven't tried strapping it onto the bike yet. Hopefully the leaves will turn this week. And I'm prepared for some cold weather riding but I won't be complaining if the temperature gets back up in the 60s or 70s!