Confessions of a self-admitted wuss

[goodies]

*Sigh*....

And goodies-I thought you guys were getting the really hard freezes? I know we're usually a good 10-15 degrees warmer than you folks...

We have been!!! Record lows, with a wind chill that unbeliveable. I have been miserable and starting to get mean. I don't even want to stop and pump gas, I let the gas light come on in the cage before I forced myself to stop.

But today it did get up to the low 50's and I got to ride some. Not long enough, I hung until my nose started running and my hands were numb.

long johns
jeans
chaps
sweatshirt
my riding jacket with the wind liner
thermsulate gloves

[SCgurl]

I did get out and ride a whole 20 miles before I couldn't take the chill.

Pssst-goodies-I say we run away and hang in, say, Key West for the winter. I'll take you about 3.5 hours to get here, it takes about 5 hours to get to Jacksonville from here, and from there, well, times are fuzzy-I figure we can make it by Friday....

[coffee_brake]

SCGurl,
I was born and raised around Charleston and still go back often (maybe we can meet up this summer for a ride!)

You sound strangely cold to me, may I suggest from my own "raised in warm climates" strategies:

Don't wrap up tight. Leave room for air, the warmth is in the air *between* your layers. I wear big boots with regular thin wool socks so there is air around my toes and I am warm.
Please consider that this is important under your leathers too. You need a floppy warm layer (wool for me) under your wind-cutting layer (leathers) so your warmth can stay near you and not get squished out the sleeves and bottom. Trust me, if you are feeling cold, the wool won't itch you a bit. I like wool better than fleece because it is thinner and stays warm even if you get a little damp. Fleece will NOT keep you warm if it gets wet.

If your layers are tight around your body they won't work to keep you warm.
If you are cold by the time you get your tire gauge out, maybe your metabolism is slower? Honestly, I go to the gym and stay in shape just so I can ride more, and longer. It keeps my metabolism high and I stay warmer all winter and handle the heat better in the summer.

I do run heated gloves because I can't find a good way to keep a warm layer of air around my hands while keeping control of the bike. I used to shiver uncontrollably too, until I discovered that wool under leather was unbeatable for chest, legs, and feet (don't forget a wool scarf to keep your neck and chest warm, you can tuck it into your helmet chinbar to keep the wind out) will keep you warm with or without a windshield.

[TylerR]

Heated gear, woman!!! I bought a Gerbing heated jacket liner and gloves (they plug into the jacket) a couple of years ago. Once you've gone heated, you'll be SO glad that you did! There are lots of other brands out there - Tourmaster, etc. so do some research to find out which one would be right for you.

[goodies]

Pssst-goodies-I say we run away and hang in, say, Key West for the winter. I'll take you about 3.5 hours to get here, it takes about 5 hours to get to Jacksonville from here, and from there, well, times are fuzzy-I figure we can make it by Friday....

I am on the way!! Woohoo!!!

[ofblong]

Florida is overrated. Way to many old people that dont know how to drive (or go across 3 lanes of traffic without flinching to get to some store they want to be at). I would rather head to Texas myself.

[SCgurl]

Thank you, Canadians and western folks, for taking your cold air back-it's been 80 degrees F here for the last week and a half.

Of course, this was after putting a windshield on the bike, spending many hours trying to figure out how to wire my bike for heated gear, spending hours online looking for chaps that might fit and warmer jackets.

But that's OK, we're supposed to freeze again Monday. So now I will put the windshield back on the bike and put the mesh jacket back in the closet. I did manage to score a brand-new, super-warm Harley leather jacket on Ebay for $75 (no, I don't ride a Harley and yes, it really is a Harley jacket ). I can pull out my brand new heated gloves that I haven't used yet, and, although I still haven't managed to acquire chaps, the long johns work OK. The jacket seemed to help the most.

So, in short, I'm not moving to Costa Rica just yet. We seems to be alternating weeks for hot and cold.

[blues2cruise]

You're welcome!

It's about minus ten here in the sunshine.

[Wrider]

Yeah it's a pretty chilly 58 here right now...
Think I'll go for a ride on my buddy's bike!
Wrider

[ceemes]

Yeah it's a pretty chilly 58 here right now...
Think I'll go for a ride on my buddy's bike!
Wrider

may the fleas of a thousand she-camels infest your armpits and neither regions............