Being The Sloan - Riding a motorcycle in cold weather

Yep, it was cold Monday morning.  Cold for Texas anyway.  It was right at the freezing level when The Sloan got up, and by the time I got my stuff loaded and got onto the motorcycle my gauge was showing 34 degrees.  But the roads were dry and I have the right cold weather gear so driving a car to work never entered my mind.  The sun was up, it was warming up fast, and it was 40 degrees when I pulled into the garage at work 17 miles later.

From non-riding friends The Sloan hears all sorts of comments and questions containing words like “crazy”, “nuts”, “fool”, and “insane”.  But he also hears words like “dedicated”, “hard core”, and the occasional “brave”.  Addressing each of those and the many others would take more time than I have right now, but basically unless you have personally ridden a motorcycle, you probably would not understand anyway.  In the United States, to the non-rider (and many who do ride), a motorcycle is a hobby, a toy, and something they just do for fun.  To me a motorcycle is much more than that.  The Sloan considers himself a motorcyclist, not a biker.  Well, what is the difference, if any?  The straight definitions are not REAL clear but one online dictionary says that a biker is a person who rides a bicycle, motorcycle, or motorbike, esp. in competition or as a hobby (emphasis mine).  The closest definition of a motorcyclist is simply a noun under the motorcycle definition.  Then if you look up “ist” it denotes a person who practices or is concerned with something, or holds certain principles, doctrines.  Again, that may not be 100% clear in stating what it means to be a motorcyclist verses a biker so I’ll just put how I look at it.  To me, a biker is someone who is out there doing it as a hobby.  When it gets cold, or it rains, the motorcycle stays in the garage.  The motorcyclist looks out the window, checks the temperature, watches the forecast, and grabs whatever gear is going to be needed for the day.  He may already have everything loaded on the motorcycle, ready for whatever the day throws at him. 

Why do I ride to work when there’s a warm car sitting in the driveway?  Well, there are several reasons.  One big draw is getting to use the express lanes.  By federal law, motorcycles are allowed to use High Occupancy Vehicle (HOV) lanes.  Often the average speed in the main lanes of the highway to work is 40 mph or less.  In the HOV lane traffic, is typically moving 65-75 mph on the way to work.  Also, the HOV lane I travel is the type with a single lane protected by concrete barriers on each side, so except for at a couple of entry/exit locations I do not have to worry about merging traffic.  On a one-way road with a lot of cars, having somebody try to occupy the same space you are already in is typically what you have to watch out for the most.  Without that worry in the HOV lane, the ride is much more relaxing. Gas mileage is a factor.  In my regular commute with about a 50/50 combination of HOV lane and stop and go traffic, my motorcycle gets about 39 mpg.  At a steady cruising speed of 70 mph it gets typically 47-48 mpg.  At its worst, that’s still better than the majority of cars on the road.  For a vehicle with the performance of a high-end sports car, those are quite respectable numbers. Another reason is the refreshed and awake feelings after riding in the wind and weather.  I’ve noticed that I’m also in a much better mood when I get off the motorcycle than after I get out of the car from stop and go traffic.  Still, the #1 practical reason for me to ride the motorcycle to work has to be getting away from the traffic in the main lanes by riding in the HOV.

How do I keep from freezing when the temperature drops down near freezing.  Well, after riding for a few seasons, you figure out what gear you need for what conditions.  For cold weather I have a armored jacket with a high neck and removable thermal liner.  It is also waterproof so unless there’s just going to be a lot of rain, you do not have to mess with the full-blown rain gear.  The outside still gets wet and needs to hang up to dry, but I don’t get wet.  My riding pants which fit over my regular jeans or whatever I am wearing have multiple layers and go all the way from a mesh/vented style that air simply blows through, down to a configuration with the mesh covered, a waterproof/windproof inner liner, and inside of that a thermal layer.  Over time I have figured out what different layers I need for temps down to 50, down to 40, and below 40.  I also have insulated gloves that I can also wear a silk inner glove that combined with heated handlebar grips keeps me pretty comfortable to the mid to low 30’s.  The helmet also closes up with just minimal venting to prevent fogging of the face shield (and my glasses), along with an insert that fills the gap between my chin and the lower front of the helmet.  When it get’s cold enough (below 40) I can also put on a balaclava that can either cover what little bit of neck is exposed between my jacket collar and bottom of the helmet, as well as go up over my head to cover my lips and/or chin. Maybe I look like a motorcycle bank robber with only my eyes showing through my helmet shield!  I’m sure this sounds like a lot, but a 60 mph wind-chill is no joke.  In fact, this gear is so warm that you practically have to put it on and quickly and go because just standing around with no wind blast, you get hot quickly.  If you get hot enough to start sweating, then you are going to be cold once you get moving down the road!

So, that’s about it.  This post is getting a little long so I will cut it off here. It’s getting warmer now this week anyway so I am going to be pulling out thermal layers so I don’t get too hot on the way to work tomorrow.  Looking at the forecast for the remainder of the week, something tells me that I’ll have to give a primer on riding in the rain in a few days!

Be The Sloan