The Temperature Threshold

This time of year can be frustrating. It has been cold -- almost freezing -- in the morning when I leave for work, yet pleasantly cool, but not cold, during the day.

As a "civic activist biker", I advocated strongly for a bill that passed a few years ago which provides free parking for motorcycles at any Metro subway station in our county. Being cheap, and also wanting to continue to take advantage of the bill that I joined with others to fight for, I really want to continue to ride my Harley to the Metro as long as I possibly can.

But every biker has his limits. Yesterday, when the thermometer read 32°F (0°C), I wussed out. That's an American expression for failing to participate in something due to lack of courage. Yep, I didn't have the courage yesterday to deal with the cold. Soon enough, I will become accustomed to the cold again, but at this time of year, such temperatures still seem to be a bit of a shock to the system.

This morning, it was a little bit warmer than yesterday. Wow, a whopping 3°F increase, making the morning temp to be 35°F (1°C). I was dithering a lot as to whether to scrape the frost off my truck and crawl into it, and just pay the cost of parking it at the garage, or steeling up my courage to leather up and ride.

Well, I chose the latter. That is, I put on thick, warm socks, my Chippewa Hi-Shine Engineer boots, which are lined and comfortable (and look good with street clothes at the office), my thickest chaps (my old Mr. S Biker Chaps were the selection), and several layers on my body. Undershirt, warm dress shirt, and a vest. On top of that, I zipped up my Taylor's Leatherwear cop jacket, which has a very warm Thinsulate lining.

I got my full-face Shoei helmet, which blocks cold better than my 3/4 SuperSeer helmet, and adjusted the vents to ensure that the face shield wouldn't fog. Then I picked out a pair of warm motorcycle gloves.

I do not have heated gear or heated grips as some people I know have. I mean, heck, it's only two miles to the Metro. How cold is it, really? Guys in Minnesota or Wisconsin are probably laughing like heck at this whole thing -- they ride all the time when temperatures are well below freezing (and probably in shorts and sneakers, to boot). But for us in the Mid-Atlantic, these temperatures are about the low limit of our tolerance, or what I call "the temperature threshold."

I continue to learn that the windscreen on my Road King really performs well in blocking the cold air. Having ridden a Harley for 15 years that did not have one, I was always having to bear the full brunt of wind chill. According to the National Weather Service Wind Chill Index, the temperature today on a bike without a windscreen at the speed that I ride to the Metro would feel like 12°F (-11°C). Brrrrrrrr! But today, it was almost heavenly. I felt the cold, but it wasn't unbearable. In fact, it was almost unnoticeable.

It's good to have the right gear for riding in temperatures like this. Heck, with what I learned this morning, I might even challenge temperatures colder than that. As long as there is not any ice or snow on the ground, I imagine perhaps I could be riding all winter. We'll see.

(Sorry, no photos of this get-up. It's not possible to operate the camera with thick gloves on!)