While mother nature does bless motorcycle riders with perfect days for riding, she also remembers the season and blows in wintry cold for our ride. We waited to ride until the sun had a chance to warm up the day as much as it would—upper 30s but with a wind chill into the twenties, but that meant riding into the low hanging sun. After several moments during the ride of near blind riding due to the direct sunlight, Bill and I decided it would be better to battle the chill and have proper vision.
Plus, for Christmas, I was given a pair of Snow Deer heated socks. They have three heat settings, so I tried the lowest heat setting for today. I also had my usual riding socks on underneath, but these double socks made for tight boots, and I did have a few missed shifts with the shifter. But my feet were toasty warm. And for the curious, the heating element is only in the foot part of the sock not up to the knee.
I also remembered my Rev’It winter riding gloves, but I didn’t remember how to wear them with my leather jacket. I struggled to take the gloves off because I had tucked the gauntlet part up under my jacket sleeves and couldn’t reach the Velcro closure or the zipper. After some awkward maneuvering with my jacket sleeve, I finally removed the gloves, and I relearned how to wear them. The winter gloves are gauntlets which means they have an extended cuff that should go over the top of my sleeve. But I’m accustomed to the Klim gloves which are just regular cuffed gloves that stop at the wrist. My struggles with the Rev’Its had my wondering if I’d even worn them last winter. I don’t think I did; I think the weather stayed moderate enough on our rides that the medium weight Klim with the heated grips were enough to keep me comfortable.
However, now that I’ve made pre-loading the front brake a habit of my rides, the heated grips with the Klim gloves aren’t enough for my fingers. The Rev’It gauntlets kept my fingertips from growing numb, so I solved the chilly hands issue. In fact with all my layers (five on my core), I was snugly warm everywhere but in my seat and thighs. I had worn my heavy duty leggings under my winter riding pants, but I need to break out the thermal for under forty rides.
Since it was so cold and so windy, there was not much natural scenery to enjoy amid the brown bare branches. The sky was a clear blue and made a beautiful back drop for the snowy white egret that flew over us as we made figure eights in the church lot. Mostly I saw seagulls soaring about, pushed inland by the wind over the ocean. I did spot the shadowed teal head of a drake in the lake, and I spotted one squirrel scurrying up a tree away from the motorcycle’s roar. But mostly the only movement was from fallen leaves bandied about in the breeze. A few spots of color were provided by the camellias and some pansies, but most of the ride featured brown and green scenery.
There were still a few Christmas decorations out, and I always appreciate the people who keep Christmas traditional and celebrate through the Epiphany. I understand the practicality most people have in taking the décor down before heading back to work, but it makes me a little sad to know the commercial interests are winning Christmas. How many people know that the twelve days of Christmas aren’t a countdown to December 25, but they are the twelve days from Christmas to the arrival of the three wise men?
Next week’s ride will be full winter with no holidays—unless people start decorating for Valentine’s Day (yikes!). Well, I’m assuming we’ll be able to ride. There is a large winter storm forecasted for this week, so please be safe readers. Snow is one of the few wonderful surprises that would make missing a ride bearable.
Flutterby Biker 