Modern Buddy

It was 47 degrees with wind gusts of up to 20mph this morning when I hopped on my Buddy for the morning commute. I layered up my top (t-shirt, long sleeve shirt, jacket and then my mesh armored jacket on top) so I was ok there but man, regular blue jeans are nothing in this weather with that wind. I was also very glad for my new Doc Martens!

I know that 47 is NOTHING to most of you, but to us thin-blooded Floridians it's FREEZING!!! Major respect to all of you still scooting in the REAL cold!!

On a side note I was really concerned about the wind and there were a couple strong gusts that made me move a bit but the Buddy really handled them well as long as I kept a loose grip.

I've ridden in temps around 40 (yes, it does get that cold here sometimes at night and in the mornings!) and have to say I found it unpleasant. Even when riding in the upper 40s, the wind does seem to whip through the denim. Major props to all you winter scooterists, with all that winter gear!

It's not my intent to start a "who rides in the worst weather" discussion but I'm still defrosting from an 8 degree test of will this morning. Denver's been unusually cold the past couple of weeks and with forecasts calling for a high in the 40's later today I decided to bite the bullet and ride for the first time this year. I've ridden in slightly colder temperatures (7 degrees is my personal coldest) but today felt pretty fricken' cold.

My ride is only 15 minutes but those last 5 minutes are difficult at this temperature. Today I wore a baklava under my helmet and that's a crucial item in this kind of cold. 3 layers under my insulated and armored leather jacket and insulated overpants. My helmet, with all vents closed along with Olympia winter gauntlets and Tourmaster boots are the finishing touches. My face and fingers still got cold but the rest of me was pretty comfortable. By the time I parked the scoot and got inside my fingers were really stinging, I think I'll try lobsterman's recommendation of glove liners.

Jeans really don't cut it for anything. They don't protect and they're not warm. I've found that temperatures below 50 require some sort of leg insulation to stay comfortable so jmazza's discomfort at 47 is nothing to sneeze at. While some sort of moto-specific leg wear would be your best bet, you can also make do with bicycling tights worn under your regular pants or armored pants. I bicycle a lot in cold weather and don't really like full length tights so I get the leg warmer types of extenders that I can wear along with my normal shorts. These can be found at REI and you'd be quite surprised at how warm they keep your legs.

Not much you can do about wind. I hate it, especially when sustained winds are above 25.

Riding home tonight in 45 degree temps sounds absolutely wonderful.

It was 3 degrees above when I left the house yesterday morning. OK OK, I wasn't on a scooter (I took the sidecar) but that's got to count for something, right?

Here's video from yesterday's festivities (I'm the one on the hack covered in stickers).
-K

http://wcco.com/video/[email protected]

I'm just glad today is the only day it's supposed to be that cold- the rest of my week's commute looks like it will be in the 60's.

I was actually surprised how well my helmet (FF) kept me warm with all the vents closed. A little air got up under the chin but that's all.

Double up on the pants or ware long underware, should you find any in So FL. That will help keep your legs warm. I woke up to -3 below this morning. Last winter I spent some time in Ft Pierce, FL and it actually dipped below 32 one night and some of the tree tops froze. Not the weather I was hoping for, and with your higher moisture that cold seems to cut right through your clothing. So what I'm saying is 40 in FL feels colder in FL than 40 in Minnesota. Still I wish I was in FL today.

I rode in today inabout 10 degrees. I was bundled up (insulated coveralls, riding jacket, ski gloves, full face helmet) so my body was fairly warm.

The big problem was I kept getting frost on the inside of my visor. My ride is only 8 miles, but I had to stop 3 times to wipe off the frost from the inside of my helmet.

Any thoughts on cutting down the frost (or maybe I should just drive the car instead )

tempalte wrote:I rode in today inabout 10 degrees. I was bundled up (insulated coveralls, riding jacket, ski gloves, full face helmet) so my body was fairly warm.

The big problem was I kept getting frost on the inside of my visor. My ride is only 8 miles, but I had to stop 3 times to wipe off the frost from the inside of my helmet.

Any thoughts on cutting down the frost (or maybe I should just drive the car instead )

I imagine that any product designed to prevent fogging in the visor will also prevent condensation from gathering and freezing. Are you using anything now?

There are a number of recommendations for preventing fog, ranging from wiping a drop of dishwashing liquid inside the visor to various anti-fog inserts, adhesive film, wipes and sprays.

tempalte wrote:I rode in today inabout 10 degrees. I was bundled up (insulated coveralls, riding jacket, ski gloves, full face helmet) so my body was fairly warm.

The big problem was I kept getting frost on the inside of my visor. My ride is only 8 miles, but I had to stop 3 times to wipe off the frost from the inside of my helmet.

Any thoughts on cutting down the frost (or maybe I should just drive the car instead )

I recently put some RainX anti-fog on the inside of the visor and it seems to be working for the visor fogging problem.

And I spoke too soon- it looks like I'm riding in tomorrow morning with temps in the upper 20's.

Crap.