It's raining. I've ridden in the rain and don't exactly care for it. Especially when it's about 35 degrees. Like Jack said, "It's no fun if you have to start out in your rain gear".
So it's no ride today...maybe next week.
Sunday, January 18, 2015
Monday, January 12, 2015
January 11th, 2015 - Polar Bear Grand Tour Ride to Upstream Grille. Lake Hopatcong NJ
Today's run was a cold one. I wasn't quite sure about going. Not so much because of the temperatures but because there had been some winter weather a few days ago and I was unsure about the road conditions where we were going. I text-ed Jack to ask about the roads and he assured me they were clear.
When I went outside it was about 14 degrees. The big red bike was reluctant to start but on the third try it turned over and roared to life. While the bike warmed up I went about hooking the trailer up to the Jeep. I have the trailer hooked up and ready to go whenever I go on these rides...just in case there's an incident.
Because of the temps I wear alot of clothes. At this point on top I had on a performance long sleeve T-shirt, a performance insulated top, on 'old school' insulated top, a turtle neck, a sweat shirt, a hooded sweatshirt and my riding jacket with liner. It may seem absurd but each layer has a purpose. I hope to order a new coat this week which will do away with the need for some of the layers. On the bottom I wear high athletic socks, performance insulated bottom, above the knee heavy socks, 'old school' thermal bottom and a pair of heavy, heavy lined blue jeans. On my feet I wear a pair of heavy, mid-height, Harley-Davidson boots. On my neck I wear a full neck gaiter which I pull up over my nose and on my head I wear a full face helmet. With the face shield pulled down my face stays warm...but there is a fogging issue whenever I come to a stop. To finish things off I have a pair of electrically heated Gerbing gloves.
Fully dressed, bike warmed up I headed out...very carefully. My driveway was the trickiest part. Once on the road it was go time. I headed up to the Wawa in Lakewood to meet the other riders. I got a few strange looks and shaking heads when people saw me on a bike in these temps.
At the Wawa were the usual characters, but no Charlie. We had our coffee, chatted then headed out for Lake Hopatcong. It was going to be a high speed ride up; the Parkway to 287 to 206 to 80 to 15. At 75mph the wind chill was about zero. The ride was without incident although the traffic was a little heavy, especially on 206. We made one stop in South Bound Brook for the bathroom and coffee.
When we arrived at the Upstream Grille there were already alot of bikes there. Many more than we expected with the low temps. The parking lot was almost clear, with only a few tiny spots of ice...but those spots will drop you if you're not careful.
We went inside to sign in to get credit for the ride. I also had to sign in for my participation in the January 1st Chilly Chili Ride. Because I forgot the wrist band from the ride they were reluctant to let me sign but finally relented. By now I should have enough points for my patch so I'll get that on the next ride. We had a nice lunch even though Dan's chili 'sucked' and he was also way overcharged for extra bratwurst.
As we went to leave Jack discovered that his heated gear was blowing fuses. Not good. He couldn't pin down the cause right away so he decided to ride home with out heat. We headed home under cloudy skies with a temp of 26 degrees. For the ride home we hopped off of the high speed interstate about half way and took 'back roads'. We stopped at the Englishtown Wawa for the bathroom, coffee and fuel. While we were stopped Jack isolated his electrical problem to his heated jacket liner. The rest of the ride home was smooth. The sun had come back out, the temps rose to about 35...a nice finish to a good day.
When I went outside it was about 14 degrees. The big red bike was reluctant to start but on the third try it turned over and roared to life. While the bike warmed up I went about hooking the trailer up to the Jeep. I have the trailer hooked up and ready to go whenever I go on these rides...just in case there's an incident.
Because of the temps I wear alot of clothes. At this point on top I had on a performance long sleeve T-shirt, a performance insulated top, on 'old school' insulated top, a turtle neck, a sweat shirt, a hooded sweatshirt and my riding jacket with liner. It may seem absurd but each layer has a purpose. I hope to order a new coat this week which will do away with the need for some of the layers. On the bottom I wear high athletic socks, performance insulated bottom, above the knee heavy socks, 'old school' thermal bottom and a pair of heavy, heavy lined blue jeans. On my feet I wear a pair of heavy, mid-height, Harley-Davidson boots. On my neck I wear a full neck gaiter which I pull up over my nose and on my head I wear a full face helmet. With the face shield pulled down my face stays warm...but there is a fogging issue whenever I come to a stop. To finish things off I have a pair of electrically heated Gerbing gloves.
Fully dressed, bike warmed up I headed out...very carefully. My driveway was the trickiest part. Once on the road it was go time. I headed up to the Wawa in Lakewood to meet the other riders. I got a few strange looks and shaking heads when people saw me on a bike in these temps.
At the Wawa were the usual characters, but no Charlie. We had our coffee, chatted then headed out for Lake Hopatcong. It was going to be a high speed ride up; the Parkway to 287 to 206 to 80 to 15. At 75mph the wind chill was about zero. The ride was without incident although the traffic was a little heavy, especially on 206. We made one stop in South Bound Brook for the bathroom and coffee.
When we arrived at the Upstream Grille there were already alot of bikes there. Many more than we expected with the low temps. The parking lot was almost clear, with only a few tiny spots of ice...but those spots will drop you if you're not careful.
We went inside to sign in to get credit for the ride. I also had to sign in for my participation in the January 1st Chilly Chili Ride. Because I forgot the wrist band from the ride they were reluctant to let me sign but finally relented. By now I should have enough points for my patch so I'll get that on the next ride. We had a nice lunch even though Dan's chili 'sucked' and he was also way overcharged for extra bratwurst.
As we went to leave Jack discovered that his heated gear was blowing fuses. Not good. He couldn't pin down the cause right away so he decided to ride home with out heat. We headed home under cloudy skies with a temp of 26 degrees. For the ride home we hopped off of the high speed interstate about half way and took 'back roads'. We stopped at the Englishtown Wawa for the bathroom, coffee and fuel. While we were stopped Jack isolated his electrical problem to his heated jacket liner. The rest of the ride home was smooth. The sun had come back out, the temps rose to about 35...a nice finish to a good day.
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