I'm looking for recommendations for a pant to wear for my morning routine through the winter. I take my 2 kids to daycare in the family truckster, drive home, hop on the bike and ride 15 miles of interstate to work, then walk 5 mins to the building, through some long hallways (in a professional environmenet), and once at the office, I swap into my uniform.

So... I need something windproof, water resistant would be great, not swish and swoosh loudly, and not look retarded while wearing with a winter coat through the daycare place, or my Fox Creek leather jacket on my way to work.

I was first thinking of insulated jeans like Carhartts or Duluth. But I want windproof for the 30 degree mornings here in D.C. I don't need "overpants" if they are built good enough, I"ll throw 'em over my boxers.

 

Flannel jeans aren't good enough on their own down into the 30's imo. I've said it before in other threads...insulated hunting pants work awesome. No wind, no cold. Picked mine up at Cabela's. Mine are the woodland pattern because I didn't care about looks. They also sell insulated ski pants in all black that looked like they would work. The hunting pants were thicker though which is why I went with them. You can also check out the Gerbing's heated pants.

 

There are a lot of high-tech windstopper and water-resistant materials out there. What about an under-layer like wearing thermal underpants under a pair of loose jeans?

Here's an example:
http://www.rei.com/product/852484/th...-ws-pants-mens

 

Huh, that's an idea. I have a pair of Columbia snowboard pants packed away somewhere. I should try those out. I forgot all about them until you mentioned "ski pants". They're just plain grey- I'll give it a shot.

 

Get over your homophobic way of thinking and get a good pair of leather CHAPS. They'll do everything you want (windproof, rainproof, not swishy), they're easy to put on & take off without taking off your boots, they'll long outlast ANY pair of pants, they'll protect you in a skid, and they look good with a leather jacket. There, problem solved!

 

Noooooo.... I can't do it. I must not be secure enough with my manhood. Plus I would have to take 'em off before walking into the building and have to store them somewhere. I'm hoping for pants I can just wear.

True confession time- I wear a 1 piece Aerostich Roadcrafter daily while commuting on my KTM... great piece of gear but I would look retarded riding the dyna with it and having to walk to my office with it on. Same as it would look silly to wear leather chaps on a KTM or BMW... Once the dyna is put together, I plan to ride it a lot more. Hence the search for some decent pants.

 

I have a pair of firstgear overpants and I love them, they changed them around since I had mine but I would highly recommend them

 

Just a good pair of long-johns should be fine for a 15 minute ride as long as it's not raining, snowing etc. I use them on the sporty every day once temps start to settle into the mid 30's to upper 40's or even up into the 50's. I've found them to be quite tolerable walking around all day at work. I keep a close eye on the weather & don't ride in the wet but on ocassions where the weather man ain't been exactly 100% accurate, for the short ride to or from work the long-johns make a big difference. Only getting wet from the knees down anyway.
As for blocking the wind, the only way I know of getting around that is leather.

 

Why not worry less about looking "cool" and dress like an actual motorcyclist? I wasn't aware that common sense gear was brand specific. I own a Harley, BMW and a Buell am I breaking some kind of fashion rule wearing the same gear on all my bikes?

 

Chaps are the best bet. If you are so shy about wearing them; can you not leave them strapped to the bike when you get to work? The roll up into a compact size.

My co-workers are all very funny people. Especially when I wear my chaps in from the bike. The joke is on them though. They drove their cages to work.

-joe