Cold weather caution

[Steverides5]

Went riding yesterday and misjudged which set of gear I should be wearing. By the time I was 50 miles in I was feeling kind of cold. We stopped in our lunch spot for coffee and a cup of soup. Checked all my gear and adjusted how my jacket was fitting and felt much warmer on the ride home. All tolled I rode about 125 miles on various shady back roads and highways as needed.

When I got home I changled into warm house clothes but just couldn’t get warm for several hours. Finally made some home made soup for dinner and eventually felt normal again.

Simply telling this story as a word of caution to everyone. Getting too cold while riding is very debilitating and can cause us not to be capable of riding safely in some circumstances. I’m old and experienced enough to know better than to make the mistake I made anyway. Be careful out there everyone. I really enjoy colder weather riding but it can be just as or even more dangerous than excessive heat.

[Scott-(Altoona, PA)]

Now Steve, what I got out of that story was if I'm in the mood for some good homemade soup to swing by your place and it'll warm me right up! Giving these cold temps I hope you and your wife made plenty!

[cushman eagle]

Scott,did you get his address?Peg and I would like to join in.

[Daigle]

Now Steve, what I got out of that helpful appetite suppressants story was if I'm in the mood for some good homemade soup to swing by your place and it'll warm me right up! Giving these cold temps I hope you and your wife made plenty!

Aye, winter temperatures can do that to you. It can feel very discomforting as well. Nothing a hot soup won't fix though. haha

[SgtSlag]

Back in 2009, my wife and I took our first real bike tour, on a 1979 Honda CB750K. The bike was overloaded, and our gear was sub-par, to say the least. We were circling Lake Superior, heading East across the North Shore in Minnesota, heading into Canada. Spent our first Canadian night in Thunder Bay.

In the morning, it was raining, and the temperature was 55 F... By 3:00 PM, we were soaked, and mostly numb. Bike performed flawlessly, but when I stopped, I had to slowly force my fingers open, to let go of the grips. We stopped at a mom & pop motel. Peeled off our soaked gear, and took a nap, waking up at 6:30 -- the attached restaurant closed at 7:00!

It took us the rest of the day to fully warm up. Our gear was mostly dry, come morning, but we were soaked within an hour of riding. The temperature remained about the same, the next few days we were in Canada: 55-57 F, and it rained every day. It was surreal, and harsh, but we would do it again, in a heartbeat, regardless of how dangerous it was. It was the most enjoyable, and memorable, trip we've ever had.

Today, we have much better gear, and a much better bike. The cold is still an issue, but now we manage to stay dry, at least. On that trip, we were most definitely suffering from hypothermia. It was bad, but we had little choice but to press on. We did manage to get some plastic bread(?) bags to put over our feet, to keep them mostly dry. We are more conservative riding now. If it is too cold, we try to find alternatives to riding, to avoid the low temperatures. The risks are high enough, without hypothermia. One thing is for certain: neither of us minds riding in the rain, on a tour (no choice!), so long as it is not pouring down too hard. My wife took the Basic Riding Course in the rain, both days. She was baptized in the rain, so to speak. After Canada, we both just gear up, and make the best of it. It is not too bad, if the temperature is above 60 F... We normally trade driving every two hours, but in colder temperatures, we change positions about every hour, so the former passenger can warm up a bit, sitting behind the fairing. The passenger position really gets blasted by the wind and the rain, though. Cheers!

[Steverides5]

For you soup lovers we have Sundays dinner. Had a large container of chipotle stock left from making pulled pork. Carmelized a couple pounds of onions and balanced out with beef stock. Put in a couple crocks and floated some of the pulled pork on top instead of bread and broiled the Swiss cheese on top. Life was pretty good. Therapeutic also.

[cushman eagle]

That soup looks and sounds like quit a tasty meal