dshanson wrote:the only bad thing is the cold. now all you northerners just be quiet, i need to rant here. it seriously dropped to like 65 degrees on wednesday. fahrenheit!!! look im used to 100 every day, and now this! its only october! its not suppose to be cold until january! im uncomfortable outside without a jacket in less than 80 degree weather. so yeah.
/rant off
just be prepared for winter because i bet its going to be closer to frozen hell in carolina.
Ahem.
Actually, I empathize with you entirely- I would keep it 80 year round if I controlled the weather. And that's with the east coast humidity, which you don't have... out there, I could probably stand 90+. I remember walking around LA the one time I was there while it was like 92 or something, and because there was no humidity whatsoever, it felt like 75 to me. I was damn surprised to find myself slightly sunburned from walking down the street to the restaurant and back.
Anyway, to Cheshire: I live maybe 5 hours north of you, I'm sure we have extremely similar weather. In terms of preparing yourself for weather... make sure you have GOOD GEAR. A good, water/wind/cold proof winter coat, gloves, and something for your legs... I'm working on a lap cover for the scooter to go over my legs... I can let you know if the one I get fits on the Buddy fairly well or not. If not, long johns or toy with the idea of ordering lined pants from somewhere that caters to people who live MUCH farther north than we do. I frequently ride in a different pair of pants, then change once I get to work- usually because of a threat of rain on the way there or back. For this reason, I also acquired myself an
awesome waterproof backpack. I would also SERIOUSLY consider investing in a small or medium sized windshield if you do not already have one.
As far as the concept of actually being car-less... I didn't have a choice about losing my car. The choice I made was spending the 4-5k loan (which was all I could afford in monthly paymenyts) on a probably crappy used car, or a shiny new scoot with a warranty. Things that are awesome: not having to EVER pay more than 3.70 to fill my tank. I'm saving almost my scooter payment in gas. Even if I fill up three times a week, it costs me the same amount for the whole month as it did to fill my car's tank up ONCE. And I usually had to fill that thing 3.5 times a month. Car insurance... scooter insurance is way cheaper, and if you lose the car you'll lose that expense. Most policies have a clause for an 'occasional driver', so if you find yourself having to play DD and drive a friend home or borrow their car for some necessity or emergency, you should be covered under their policy.
Things I don't like: I was always that person who volunteered to drive, give rides, etc. I can't do that now- I can only carry one passenger and not many things. Pets. I have three cats- if one of them needs to go to the vet, I am not going to torture them by strapping the carrier to the back rack, I will have to borrow my sister's car or call a taxi. They also do make you a little antisocial in the winter- when the weather becomes an obstacle and not an afterthought, you show up to less optional social gatherings because of it.
That's all I've figured out so far... I've only been riding since September. So, this will be my first winter as well
I'm used to 80's being summer. 65F is ideal riding weather for me. Tomorrow morning and night is a gear test. There's a frost warning. Brr. (Dear Santa: I'd like some heated gloves, plskthx.)
I wear the one I have on my bad leg and use the other as a gauge. I'll be getting another set shortly. I have a balaclava, but it bunches up with the FF helmet and makes me feel like I'm wearing a neck brace. 
I'll either alter it and lose the hood part or see if I can find a polarfleece neck warmer. I had one before and really liked it.
