Christmas comes early. A review of the Freeze Out jacket and gloves - part 1 of two thing

Okay, it's not THAT bad.

Do not let anyone tell you that Florida does not get cold.

While its true that we don't suffer from sub zero temperatures, or snow and ice for days and weeks on end.  It is a different type of cold.  Our high humidity and often windy conditions make it feel colder than it actually is and that is one of the reasons why hypothermia deaths are so high in Florida.

Despite being born in Pennsylvania I've never grown to like winter or the cold.  While I often joke about it, the truth of the matter is that I always knew I would go south.  The first chance I got after college away I went, and I have never looked back.

While I am no longer commuting back and forth at 1 to 2 AM in the middle of the night, I still have to commute in the dark and at night particularly this time of year.  I am also commuting further and in different types of traffic than I have before.  This is more of a "stop and go" traffic pattern followed by rural stretches at a higher speed.  When I was traveling home in the middle of the night, if I got cold I could easily pull over and add another layer (often I would pull a pair of sweat pants on to keep the legs warm).  Now, sadly, this may not be possible and or dangerous for me to do.

With that in mind Susan bought me three early Christmas presents.  We traveled down to the brick and motor Cycle Gear warehouse (which I admit I forgot was even in Tampa) and she bought me the Freeze Out jacket and gloves.  Of course the temperatures, which had been in the low 40's (5 to 7 C) during the day jumped into the mid 70's (mid 20's C) the second I bought the jacket and gloves.

So, here was the test.  I would wear my normal "summer mesh" jacket to work during the day and wear the Freeze Out jacket home.  The gloves were designed to go under my Fox riding gloves.  The lows for the coming week were predicted to be in the mid 50's (about 12 C), while this would not be much of a test it would at least give me an idea of how the new gear would feel when then temperature dropped even more in January and February.  Of course the temps this whole week were higher than that. 

So much for that idea.

Based on what I read from various forums the gear kept most of the riders warm into the high 30's without much issue.  I was looking for two things.  One:  Would I be chilled when I got home.  While the temperatures involved where not "cold", they were cool.  Would I arrive home feeling like I did not leave the office at all.  Two:  How comfortable would the gear be?  I was particularly interested in how the gloves would feel, as I don't like wearing gloves at all, but know what my hands needed protection.

I guess these things would have to wait. 

The other gift she bought me however was put to use immediately  She bought me a Bilt bike cover as well.  While the bike sits at home it is actually pretty well protected from the elements.  However when I am at work it's not.  This may come in handy when I'm parked there, however so far I've not taken it to work.  For now I believe I'll just continue to  use it at home.  

The winter months brings it's own challenges.

Autumn has arrived in officially in Florida.

The humidity broke, the temperature has settled into the what I used to think of as "summer" weather when I lived up north.  My mesh jacket has been confined to the closet and I slip into my heavier "winter" jacket welcoming the extra weight and warmth of it for the cold ride home at 1 AM.  I start to get my head around the fact that soon it will be very cold on the way home.

The temp gauge on my beloved Burgman (RIP)

I know that the words "cold" and "Florida" don't exactly make logical sense.  I do admit to feeling some pangs of regret that my Northern friends don't have a year round riding season like I do and always feel a little bad bringing up the topic of "cold weather riding."

Well snow is as rare as a truthful politician it can get cold here.  I have photographic proof of it.  For me it's a challenge, I have to dress warmly yet still manage to look professional and competent.  Dressing in layers is not always possible...I have to work in an area we refer to as the "fish bowl" - a glass enclosed small space full of computers.  Sweaters and hoodies can only go so far and I don't want to do a strip tease just yet.  My boots are good at keeping my feet warm but my legs?  Oh that is a different story!  In the past I've gone so far as to wear thermal underwear under my dress pants or place a pair of old sweatpants under the seat and pull those over my dress pants.

Winters are dry here, but we do get a nasty wind off the land and sea at various times of day and wind chill becomes a issue.   Layering is all well and good, but again how much gear can I wear in to work to stay warm on my 37 mile (60 KM) ride home without sweating off my skinny little butt?

The simplest solutions are always the best.

Kimmie at work.

The migration of the snowbirds also brings heavier traffic and a greater number of bikes on the road.  With that comes new dangers and challenges. I'm not knocking older drivers, who on the whole tend to be safer drivers, but they do need to remember the old adage "look twice, save a life."   Yesterday for example I had cars pull out in front of me twice, neither time was I ever in danger but that's not the point.  I have to be more vigilant in the winter months.  For example, in my little town of Zephyrhills the ave population is a little over 13,000 people.  During the winter months that number climbs to something like three or four times that.  More people equals more problems equals more danger.  That is just a sad fact.

UPDATE - In a bizarre twist, I was meeting my girlfriend at a friends about 4 PM.  They live off a rather busy road that is hard to cross during rush hours.  I decided to head down a rough washboard road and meet them at a Italian restaurant.  I too,k my helmet out of my top case and road the 3 miles or so to the bar.  By the time I got there my top case was gone.  We went back to look for it and traveled that road back and forth at least 3 times.  There was no sign of it anywhere.  Not even plastic on the road.  So I need a new top case and a new pair of gauntlet gloves (which were in the case).  Also new reflective stickers.

Robert is not happy.

Storm Chasing

It was one of those days where I should have paid closer attention to the weather.

Burgie in the rain, such a sad site.

The weather here in Florida seems to follow a pattern.  I enjoy my day, soaking up the sunshine and doing some odd errands and odd jobs.   It's when I get ready to go to work...and the skies do open up and it doth rain upon me!

I drove in sans rain gear about two or three days ago since the sky's were light.  However the closer to work I got the darker and darker it got.  I realized that it was going to miss me, so I kept going...pulling into work and hiding the bike under the loading eves about 10 minutes before the rain hit.  "I was lucky" I thought.

Two things happened during the day that bothered me however.   The first was that someone moved the Burgie out of the dry area and into an area of standing water.  I know they did this for a UPS truck but no one bothered to get me?  Or even look for the owner?   Would this have happened to a Harley rider?  I think not!  Hell I would not of minded so much if they would have moved it back to it's original spot.

Plus what would have happened if they caused the bike to fall?  Damaged the forks?  I felt more than a little violated here, and frankly it made my desire for a motorcycle cover all that more meaningful.  Then I had to ride home after pulling on my rain gear.

The weather has been bad all week and I know that eventually I would have to ride home in a storm at night.    It's not something I've been looking forward to, I know that my vision would be lessened due to the darkness and I could imagine that the rain would not help any.  I started my steed up after carefully checking her over to make sure nothing was damaged as the first drops started to fall.   Mumbling, I pulled away into the night taking it easy at first allowing the tires to warm up and any excess water to dry off the brakes.

Traffic was unusually heavy for this time of night and somehow I got stuck behind a tractor trailer which not only moved slower than I would have liked and no matter how far I seemed to ride behind him kicked up a nice amount of water right into my path.  A sharp wind didn't help matters.

I finally got around the tractor trailer and a few miles down the road was blocked.  "An accident, got the whole side blocked.  Your going to have to detour."

Muttering again I took the detour, I know the road well and have often ridden it into work but I know it's full of deer.  Luck was on my side again as there were no deer to be seen.  Finally I made it home, about 10 minutes later than normal and well soaked.  My rain gear was probably one of the better investment's I've made as its kept me relativity dry.

The truth be told is that the ride was not as bad as I feared.  The downpour never came.  I rode in a steady but manageable light rain the whole way home.  I did wake up with a nasty cold the next day however.