{"id":6274,"date":"2024-12-01T08:21:33","date_gmt":"2024-12-01T08:21:33","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/lowbitlogic.com\/?p=6274"},"modified":"2024-12-05T17:10:17","modified_gmt":"2024-12-05T17:10:17","slug":"cold-weather-riding","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/lowbitlogic.com\/?p=6274","title":{"rendered":"COLD Weather Riding"},"content":{"rendered":"
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There is something so unique about riding a motorcycle in cold weather. Maybe it’s the fog created from my hot exhaust. Or the fact that my eyes water immediately after I lift my visor on my motorcycle helmet during a ride in lower temps. I can’t place my finger on it exactly, but I do know that the brisk chill from a motorcycle ride during the fall\/winter season is unlike anything I have experienced before.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Compared to the hot and humid season in the Lowcountry, that feels like it lasts 8 months out of the year, the colder weather is a welcome experience to me. This is my first season riding in cold weather, and though the temps have just started to fall, I must express how wonderful a seasonal change it has been for me. Though cold weather riding does offer new unpleasant experiences like numb fingers, a wind chill that can cut through you above 30mph, I must suggest every motorcyclist give cold weather riding a try. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

The cold weather can really make your ride special. If you are like me, I love an early morning ride and since the sunrise is so late this time of year, a few minutes before 7am East Coast time, watching the sunrise happen above the marshes of the Lowcountry is spectacular. I recently experience this as I crossed the James Island Creek bridge. A deep orange glow rose from the horizon as I crossed this old bridge and made me smile. After which, I cruised to my favorite local coffee shop for a big ass cup of coffee with two expresso shots (a redeye for those affluent in coffee lingo). As I drank my coffee in the warm interior of the coffee shop, I took notice of my cold weather gear. What I have noticed and felt is my hands take a beating in the cold weather. I purchased some glove liners and fit into my leather gloves which has made a huge difference. It is not a full protection, but I can haul 10 miles in brisk weather and still feel my fingers LOL. My touch is a bit heavy with the glove liners, but it more than makes up for it as I ride my motorcycle over 40mph.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

It is especially important that those, like me, who ride in colder weather, must follow the “layering” technique with clothing. I wore “wicking” fabrics in layers, which started with a light tank top. After which I put on a long sleeve compression top, added a wicking t-shirt after, and finally, placed a loose-fitting wicking long sleeve before I finished off my layering technique with my motorcycle jacket. This prevented wind from hurting me and once I arrived at my location, my body temperature started increasing immediately and a light sweat occurred. Soon my hands felt warm, and I knew my years of “layering” for hiking trips played a part in my dressing for the day. My feet were protected by my big heavy boots, which I wear in any season, but for this cold weather ride I wore some wool compression socks that made toes happy!<\/p>\n\n\n\n

As of this blog post, I have ordered a pair of compression pants that will fit wonderfully under my heavy-duty motorcycle jeans that I love to wear on my rides. Though my legs felt good, adding a layer of compression pants similar to the long sleeve compression top I wore, will make a huge difference! And I have learned recently that the layering technique I used isn’t just for fall\/winter. This is also a great idea for summer. That I will try when the temps start to rise.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Finally, my head. Yes! Must keep the brain and face protected LOL. For my head I added a cap and full balaclava. This fit well under my helmet. I was pleasantly surprised to notice my head felt great. Other than my eyes watering up once I lifted my helmet visor during my ride, everything was good to go. I wear a balaclava each ride but adding a thin cap before I place my balaclava on made a huge difference. I highly recommend a balaclava to every motorcyclist.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The riding experience in cold weather does provide different situations than the warmer climate. The biggest thing I noticed was how much the cold brisk wind chill can really knife through you. For me, I made more frequent stops. Ride for 30 minutes, then break for 10-15 minutes. Allow my body temperature to warm up and not allow my hands and fingers to go numb. Yet, with anything about riding a motorcycle, it is really up to you, the rider. You must figure out what works for you. Because at the end of day, it’s you who must survive and live to ride another day.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Rolf<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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There is something so unique about riding a motorcycle in cold weather. Maybe it’s the fog created from my hot exhaust. Or the fact that my eyes water immediately after… Read More<\/a><\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-6274","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/lowbitlogic.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6274","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"http:\/\/lowbitlogic.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"http:\/\/lowbitlogic.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/lowbitlogic.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/lowbitlogic.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=6274"}],"version-history":[{"count":12,"href":"http:\/\/lowbitlogic.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6274\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":6287,"href":"http:\/\/lowbitlogic.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6274\/revisions\/6287"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/lowbitlogic.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=6274"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/lowbitlogic.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=6274"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/lowbitlogic.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=6274"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}