Things I've noticed riding in the cold.

[TheConquerorWorm]

Got a "Brake Free" helmet brake light.

Thanks for this. My wife is already mad (joking) that I just bought a bike again, and this will just remind her how many vacations she'll miss because of mods.

 

[Sparky59]

excuse me.....What;s a Newspaper?

 

[mo8414]

What is a "brake free light? Regards.

Light that goes on the back of your helmet that is triggered to get brighter when you slow down such as when engine braking.

 

[Tripps]

excuse me.....What;s a Newspaper?

If you don't read the newspaper you're uninformed, if you do read the newspaper, you're misinformed- Mark Twain

 

[OldBiker72]

If you don't read the newspaper you're uninformed, if you do read the newspaper, you're misinformed- Mark Twain

Well said! And I agree... therefore I just use it!

 

[Bunny Burrell]

If you don't read the newspaper you're uninformed, if you do read the newspaper, you're misinformed- Mark Twain

So use it as dunny paper

 

[Idaho Red Rocket 3]

Way back I used an old newspaper in front of my chest area under my riding jacket - still works today when riding in the cold!

Yup ! I remember me and my riding buddies doing that back in the '70s as broke kids. Newspaper was only a dime in my area back then.

 

[zenbiker]

Another advantage to riding in the winter is my wife doesn't wanna go in the cold so I'm free to mess around a bit more. In the sunmer shes with me 80% of the time.

As much as I love the lady, I'd much rather ride alone!

 

[Jagster]

My experience with riding in very cold weather is as follows:

1- Tips of my fingers begin to get icy cold and tips of fingers go numb. I try to mitigate this by keeping my fingers off the levers as much as possible and moving them to keep blood circulation going.
2- My knees begin to go the same way, but it's easier to live with.....until I need to put my feet down as the joints stiffen up and that slows down movement significantly. Not good on hilly roads in traffic.
3- Feet start to go numb. Wiggling of toes helps but once the feet get properly cold, you know you're not going to last for long and will need to stop and walk around to stimulate some heat.
4- Once my body gets noticeably cold for any length of time on the bike, I know i'm not going to get my core body temperature back to normal for many hours after getting back into the warmth, so that's when more care needs to be taken from that point onward.

Ways to combat the cold when getting caught out on long trips:

1- Keep moving your body and joints.
2- Stop more regularly to walk around and if possible have a hot drink.
3- Put plastic bags over your boots and gloves in extreme cases. It does help. Especially in wet conditions.
4- Stuff that newspaper up your vest to add an extra thermal layer beyond what your clothing can offer.
5- Tell yourself that you should have bought that heated suit.
6- If you're already wearing that illusive heated clothing and you've got to point 6, then tell yourself you should have taken the car.....getting angry produces heat

Ride safe folks !

 

[Einar]

Anyone ever plasti-dip the levers to reduce heat transfer from the fingers into the levers?