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How cold do you go?

reminds me of that saying, "The warmest beer I ever drank was just cold enough."

I rode in in 34F this morning. 35 minutes door to door, feet a little cold, hands a little cold (I do have Olympia gloves with thinsulite but they are old).

I will say that goggle type safety/shooting glasses help with tearing/helmet fog management. Clear visor and balaclava, crack visor as needed for the exhale fog management. There's probably a better system for this.
 
ok so this morning was silly, probably should have pulled over and if there was a shelter I would have!

At one point I was going 30-35 MPH with one hand on the throttle and the other in front of my face to keep hail from hitting my face. My visor was up because it became impossible to see clearly through it.

Lesson learned? Always ensure your visor is freshly waxed inside and out. Will try bar soap.
 
When I was a younger man I routinely rode until the snow stuck to the roads commuting everywhere with my bikes, now I usually hang it up around Thanksgiving and am out by the second or third week in March. Temperatures can get down into the single digits early but will warm to teens mid day. My riding apparel then as is now is a Motoport jacket with waterproof liner, fleece top, widder heated vest and arm chaps, and merino wool undershirt, for pants either motoport riding pants or Aerostich AD's. I almost all year round wear merino wool socks with my boots. As for gloves, I do have some waterproof winter Held gloves but can ride with my ropers and heated grips with no problem. With that getup I can ride all day and be comfortable. I was raised in Northern Maine, as children we spent all out time outdoors regardless of the temps so even though I don't relish it, it's in my blood and when I get back out into it realize its not so bad. As others have indicated, my fears are more related to handling and stopping. I don't worry about the salt and such it does make a mess but it's not the end of the world for me. I'd rather ride in the cold than some of the time I've spent riding in the heat, 106F crossing Nebraska on my way to Salt Lake rally was miserable.

As for cold riding stories, a couple years ago I was heading to Moonshine for the annual lunch run first week in April and stupidly decided to take I-80 across PA instead of dropping down and getting I76. Well I stopped for the night in Grove City PA and woke up to 6" of snow packed into my windshield around the instrument cluster, temperatures in the teens and spitting snow. Well I borrowed the hot water in the lobby set aside for making tea and dumped this over the instrument cluster to clear the snow and took off toward Ohio, stupidly deciding not to head south when given my second chance. By the time I got into Youngstown there was 3" of snow in the breakdown lane, it was snowing sideways and and a winter storm warning had been issued. The road plow crews were standing by in the median and would wave at the idiot on the motorcycle. The trip back was even better, there was a Polar Vortex which dropped down into the States, I woke up Sunday morning in St.Clairsville OH to single digit temps. I had to take the battery out of the bike and warm it up in the hotel room to get the girl to fire up. It was an interesting 800 mile ride home to say the least, bike was flawless, toes and knees got chilled, off ramps were sketchy where the water had run across them and frozen some places. You all know the drill sit up, back straight, knees gripping the tank, hold the grips like eggs, point her straight and pray, never went down, but did pucker the air hawk a time or two. I pay a little closer attention to the weather now and won't hesitate to move of my planned path if necessary.
 
I have had guys give me crap about having heated gear. A couple guys said they ride in all temps with just layering up. I usually ask them if they want to go on a Saturday ride with me when the temps are around 30F, maybe 200-300 miles. Nobody has agreed to come with me! Generally I find out these riders are commuting to work and back, 5-10 miles. A few miles at 40F you can wear a heavy jacket, gloves and a helmet and survive. Ride for a couple hundred and you need decent gear.
 
I have had guys give me crap about having heated gear. A couple guys said they ride in all temps with just layering up. I usually ask them if they want to go on a Saturday ride with me when the temps are around 30F, maybe 200-300 miles. Nobody has agreed to come with me! Generally I find out these riders are commuting to work and back, 5-10 miles. A few miles at 40F you can wear a heavy jacket, gloves and a helmet and survive. Ride for a couple hundred and you need decent gear.

I was a slow learner. Voni and I would be on a trip and she would put on her electric "vest" and I would leave mine in the saddle bag because I wasn't really cold yet. Once as we arrived home in 40 something weather I was exhausted and she was still perky. When I bragged about how I didn't even need my heated vest she looked at me and asked, "And just how many calories did your body use to keep you warm while I did it with surplus electrons from the bike?"

That subtle slap beside the head woke me up. Now if it is even chilly I put on my heated jacket liner and save the calories for energy I really need.
 
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35 minutes <35F this morning. No hot grips and it would have been unsafe.

I will try and dig out a picture of my grandfather in 1917 standing next to his motorcycle on snow covered roads with a dispatch bag over his shoulder. He was a signals dispatch rider for the Kasier. He, the weather, and the roads looked miserable!
 
PGlaves, I had not really thought about riding a bike in the cold that way, staying warm from the start, I am in south Tx, close to Galveston and cold natured, when I walk out side to ride and my legs feel cool at all I put on leather pants, don't have any heated gear yet as I only just bought a beemer 1200rt used this last Aug after not riding for 30 years. I'm always finding my self sweating often unless it's warm, since I'm cold natured I think I will stop and pull some of the merino wool off then once I do I start getting cool and leave the inner clothes as they are. Riding this time around is a lot more fun for me for so many reasons, some one stated there were more HD's out in the cold than any other bike, yep, more new sold too and, three times as many used HD's for sale than any other, I started looking for a used bike the first of 2018 and was going to get one but I knew I rather a BMW, I would like another used wing, I had a 2003 that looked new in June 18 and if i'd had more funds would have kept it and bought the beemer I have too.
 
I commuted to work twice last week (30 or 50 miles one-way depending on which office I go to). Morning temperature was lower 30's both days. The ride was fairly comfortable on my R1150RT. Wearing a full-face helmet, First Gear leather jacket with thermo liner, plain ol' leather boots, and roper gloves (using my heated grips on high). I don't think I'd want to take an all-day ride like that, but for the 1/2 - to - one - hour commute it was perfectly doable (and much more enjoyable than driving my pickup truck). :dance
 
I just rode my G310GS 95 miles in 40 degrees and I'm chilled. But dang it, I had to get in a ride, it's been a long winter already. It's not like riding the 1200 where you have heated grips and a windshield. :)

IMG_2727-X2.jpg


IMG_2717-X2.jpg
 
This is from my home town this morning (not me, I'm not crazy). Temp was -43 C (-45 F) with windchill at -53.

https://twitter.com/963CruzFM/status/1093177442246840320/video/1

I think we need a new term way beyond Polar Vortex.


People forget, we make our own wind so it does not make much difference if the wind is blowing or not, only what the actual temp is, then figure wind chill for the speed we travel. -45F and 30 MPH, his wind chill was way lower than the -53F, closer to -85F!!
 
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