Cold weather riding
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Road Master
Joined: May 2007
Posts: 882
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From: Milwaukee, WI
Cold weather riding
The fall color in Michigan’s UP was the best I have seen in years. For once I was in exactly the right place at the right time. The weather forecast was for cool days and colder nights with no rain. Part of the forecast was correct; it was cold. The no rain part was so wrong. Half the time I had mist or downright rain. There’s nothing like having a bright sunny day while riding in mist and light rain. If you are not dry and warm riding can be miserable. On this trip I was neither cold nor wet.
Over some 35 years of riding I have worn many different combinations of under and outer wear to stay dry and warm, some more successful than others. Now with the right machine and clothes I have the combination that does allow me to stay warm and dry. On this trip I wore jeans, long sleeve cotton t-shirts and boots with heavy wool socks. My middle wear consisted of a single item, a HD electric vest with temperature control rheostat. Over the vest I wore my FXRD jacket. To keep the wind at bay I wore gauntlet gloves with Thinsulate thermal insulation. There was no air entering at the jacket cuff. I also wore nylon over pants from North Face. They are a good windbreaker and work well in mist and light rain.
When it was very cold I wore a leather, cotton lined, triangular bandana over my lower face and neck.
So how effective was this? It was 27 degrees outside when I left Marquette, MI last Friday morning. I rode a little over 300 miles and never once felt cold. As the day warmed all I did was turn down the rheostat. It was another great fall day to ride.
Over some 35 years of riding I have worn many different combinations of under and outer wear to stay dry and warm, some more successful than others. Now with the right machine and clothes I have the combination that does allow me to stay warm and dry. On this trip I wore jeans, long sleeve cotton t-shirts and boots with heavy wool socks. My middle wear consisted of a single item, a HD electric vest with temperature control rheostat. Over the vest I wore my FXRD jacket. To keep the wind at bay I wore gauntlet gloves with Thinsulate thermal insulation. There was no air entering at the jacket cuff. I also wore nylon over pants from North Face. They are a good windbreaker and work well in mist and light rain.
When it was very cold I wore a leather, cotton lined, triangular bandana over my lower face and neck.
So how effective was this? It was 27 degrees outside when I left Marquette, MI last Friday morning. I rode a little over 300 miles and never once felt cold. As the day warmed all I did was turn down the rheostat. It was another great fall day to ride.
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