Mmmm, first wintery day of the year comes a bit early...

[Gavin]

Ok, I measure winter by which gloves I'm wearing (Summer are leather fingerless, Spring and fall are full leather and winter is Ski gloves...and ski gloves with liner if temps are in the teens or lower).

Today was the first day since March that I wore my Ski gloves...must be getting wimpy as it was above freezing (33 degrees).

Still wore my "fall" jacket...saving the winter jacket for when it is in the 20's or lower...can't "baby" my torso too much

Might actually get some normal motorcycle heated winter gloves if the Brammo Enertia Plus has a convenient plug to connect them too...none of my current rides do, which is why I go ski gloves.

Anyways, just thought I would share



Gonna get much colder come Dec, Jan and Feb...I expect to be back in fall gloves tomorrow.

Gavin

[protomech]

It's been in the mid 40s here some mornings. Definitely brisk, have worn my winter gloves a few times. I took my jacket liner out this weekend for riding, was very pleasant without.

Temperatures here tend to shift dramatically. Highs have been in the mid 80s first part of the week, supposed to get down to the 60s by thursday/friday.

[Gavin]

Because of our altitude and clear skies, we have massive changes from night to day...the warm air just gets sucked right out into space at night. (of course that is real nice in the summer months...we aren't like the East Coast...even if it is 90 in the day we will be in the 70s or even 60s at night...much nicer to sleep than when it is 90 in the day and 80s at night...ick)

That said, with the sun so strong here, it can be 30 degrees and if you are in the sun, heck you are peeling off layers...a long sleeve shirt is all you need in to walk around outside in the sun in the 30's.

Now riding is a bit different...hands get cold with the wind even when sunny.

I always have more glove than jacket when riding.

Gavin

[Gavin]

gah, 35 this morning...grrrr, don't remember it getting this cold this early...might have to break out the winter jacket soon...was hoping to put that off till december.

Oh well, it will likely get a bit warmer soon...probably just a cold snap...strangely it seems we have had it snow on Halloween more times than on Christmas.

Gavin

[Gavin]

Mmmmm, first morning below freezing...



Luckily:

A) it was nice and sunny, so not bad at all.

B) looks like it will be warmer in the mornings come Thursday and on...

Haven't yet broke out the winter jacket...but once it gets in the 20's I will likely be forced to.

Bah, winter jacket is bulky and not overly attractive so I try and keep my Spring/Fall jacket rocking as long as possible.

But the other night riding late on the highway at around 80 mph, the fall jacket was feeling a bit "thin".

Still hoping to keep going "Fall Jacket Style" till December...Time, and temperature will tell.

Gavin


ps...won't keep putting up temps...will save that for when I have a nice screen save of a single digit morning...mmmm, those are the mornings when I am half way to work and start thinking that I might have to get a car someday...

[protomech]

Gavin: What cold weather gear are you using?

I'm in northern AL, so we normally don't have crazy cold temperatures - worst has been upper 30s in the early morning. I've been getting by with chaps over jeans, winter gloves, and my only jacket (perforated leather, liner installed). I tested my rainsuit top over my leather jacket, it's bulky and probably looks dorky but it's very effective at cutting wind on the colder days.

I'm displeased with the amount of wind the winter gloves let through - that's by far the weak link in my gear. I don't know if better gloves would help, or if I need a liner or shields for the grips or what.

[Gavin]

I am a layers kinda guy...and low tech too...and currently ride scooters with legshields...so the helps a bit also.

I admit that on all gear the gloves are the weakest point.

My summer jacket is a Shift Leather jacket in Putty. Light weight leather and light color.

Spring and fall Jacket is also a Shift Leather jacket, but a bit heavier leather in Black...also has a liner, but I usually don't wear that (had to search for it the other day...it is in now till December).

Can't remember off the top of my head about my winter coat...a TourMaster I think. Not leather, but cloth? with a couple of liners. I usually wear a down sleeveless vest under it.

But gloves...in the winter I just go straight ski gloves...less mobility? Yep. But they work. And I also have a pair of liner gloves that I wear under the ski gloves when it gets really cold.

I agree that rain pants are great to cut out wind cold. And on super cold days I just tend to ride a bit slower...slower means a bit longer in the cold, but any extra speed just ups the wind cold hitting your hands.

g

When I get my Brammo, if it has an outlet for heated gloves, i will probably spend the money and get some First Gear Carbon Heated gloves...tried them on at a cycle gear store and they fit sooo nice...but 169 bucks is tough to spend when you have no way to use the heater part of the gloves.

[HighlanderMWC]

I'm not crazy enough to ride in snow or ice so I didn't start riding until a moved to a place that had neither and now I've ridden daily for over 16 years. I definitely don't encounter those freezing temperatures either. I use ski mittens once it gets cold enough to cut through my heaviest riding gloves. I actually found that they had less effect on my control than ski gloves.

[Phantom]

I've been in the 20's (F) already this season and I ride with:

Tourmaster Textile with armor (suitable for winter)
ski gloves (previously only used for snowboarding)
overpants with armor (would be great for snowboarding)
winter scarf (think Red Baron)
helmet and boots

When I walk around with all my gear on, I feel like a player from Unreal Tournament; a gamer's reference.

I might give ski mittens a try after Highlander's tip. I can't stand using ski gloves, but my normal gloves also allow in too much cold air.

[Gavin]

Mmmm, so Phantom ride as cold or colder than me

So what is the coldest you've driven your Enertia in? The coldest day I drove my scooters was 9 degrees (or 6...i'm a bit dyslexic)...Can the Enertia ride in single digits?

Gavin

[Phantom]

The coldest ride so far for me is 23F. I am trying to avoid charging below 32F per the owner's manual.

Yes, I expect single digits is possible, but I would expect your range to drop off.

I will let you know when I ride colder.

[Gavin]

Well this weekend was insanely warm...around 60, sunny, no wind...spent most of Sunday in a t-shirt and cooking on the grill....

but it looks like I will finally get my single digit ride in...Maybe Tuesday, definitely Wednesday...




Mmmmm, with wind chill looking at minus 7 degrees for my Wednesday morning ride....

SWEET... Hopefully not too snowy or icy....I've ridden in plenty of snow and ice, but I promised my wife I wouldn't do that any more since I can take a bus to work pretty easily (stops 2 blocks from the house and right in front of my work)...Still I've only ridden the bus 5 times in 6 years...Public Transportation is Great...Riding cageless is even better

But a couple of inches of snow will be fine...anything 3 inches or more and I will have to sadly bus it....So, Hoping for dry and COLD.....



Gavin

[Phantom]

Good luck on your single-digit temperature ride. We have five foot tall snowbanks everywhere which makes it difficult to pull out of a side street onto a main road. It is hard to see the traffic on the main road. We have more snow forecast this week which has to be some kind of record for my area.

[Gavin]

Well the upside is that the weather has been revised for tomorrow...

A low of -2, high of 14 degrees...so a great chance of some single digit riding...maybe a minus degrees riding...which would be a first for me.



The downside is that today the schools were canceled because the town is covered in ice.

I actually wussed out and took the bus...I've ridden on totally ice-covered roads before...it is actually both fun as hell and absolutely scary as hell. I prefer completely iced-over rides to work vs random black ice, but I've told myself not to do it anymore....the people of Albuquerque have no idea how to ride in snow or ice.

Me, I used to take my smaller scooter on ice. Lighter, lower...I would go 15 mph and have both feet off the sides and sliding on the ground like outriggers. Worked great. No slipping, no sliding...actually very smooth...you do have to watch for bare, non iced-over spots...but for complete 100% iced-over roads, kinda fun.

But half the time I would have a huge pickup 5 feet off my rear tire...very very scary...If I slid or fell the truck would 100% drive right over me...no way could they have stopped....Drove me crazy. Hello, there is a lane next to me that you can pass me on if I'm going too slow for you...but 5 feet off my rear wheel is NOT the place to be, thank you very much.

Anyways...hoping the ice melts today*** and the weather tomorrow is cold as heck, but dry.

Grrrr, if I have to take the bus tomorrow I will be pissed....perhaps I could get up super early and ride before all the crazies are running into curbs and spinning through intersections like this morning. I forget just how many cars in Albuquerque are rear wheel drive until the city ices over and every pickup truck and sports car is fish tailing on the green lights...

Gavin

***yes it won't get above freezing...and we don't do salt on our roads here at all...but if the sun comes out, well our sun is hella strong...the sun will melt the ice and our dry air will suck all the moisture up into the sky...so a bit of sun today will give me some dry roads for the morning commute...I just hope we don't have a cloud covered day.

[Gavin]

http://brammoblog.wordpress.com/2011/02/02/cold-weather-challenge-unofficial/


gavin