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Saturday, November 5, 2011

WINTER RIDE TIME PART ONE

Have you ever been cold on a ride? If you answered no you only ride on sunny days in the summer. The rest of us know that even if it’s 55º out, you can still freeze your butt off. Here’s how you can stay warm and ride year round.
Layers
It’s the obvious answer but in practice, layering effectively is not something that just happens. The goal is to get maximum warmth with minimal bulk. Adding clothes until you look like the Michelin man  probably won’t keep you as warm as a few well chosen items.
Layering for motorcycle riding is much different than what you would do for other cold weather activities. Cruising down the freeway at 55 mph is not an intense physical activity though. You’re sitting motionless for miles, and when you do move, it’s small movement of the right wrist, two fingers pulling a brake lever, or a flick of your left ankle to shift gears. None of that is going to generate any heat.
What you need your clothing to do then is retain the heat your body produces at rest and insulate your extremities from the cold. Start with something very thin and close fitting soft cotton long-sleeve t-shirts. Next add tight fitting fleece pull-over or a sweatshirt. Under a warm jacket with a liner something with a windproof, waterproof shell.
One area you shouldn’t forget about is your neck. This is a major area of heat loss for motorcyclists. It’s easy to cover pullover neek wrap with something made with windstopper material is best, that way you only need the one layer there.

Next time we will move on to the hands and feet

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