Not even winter yet

Rode to the store for some groceries Friday while I was on vacation. Had to
snap an historical picture since it was the earliest snow in Houston's
recorded history beating the previous earliest by about a week. (pic at
abpmh)
That record was set in 2008.

Before I went to the store I rode over to Republic HD in Stafford. Didn't
see any other bikes on the short trip. When I pulled up to the service
doors, they didn't open automatically and had to be manually opened by one
of the techs. I think they shut off the auto function to keep the cold out
whenever anyone walked near the sensor. Anyway I felt guilty being all
bundled up and warm when I was just pulling a practical joke on 'em. I told
them I needed my heater fixed. All summer long it was stuck in the on
position and now that I needed it I couldn't get it to work. They all got a
chuckle out of it.

Anyway I went there with a purpose and that was to get some dry gloves. The
short ride to the shop had already gotten my gloves soaking wet from having
to wipe the snow off my faceshield every 100 feet. I bought a new model of
the same type I wore up there but with gortex to keep the water out. Happy
to say they did keep the water out for the remainder of the day in the snow.
The real test will be a heavy rain like we had last Tuesday when I rode
through a frog strangler and had to stop for gas in the crap to boot. The
gloves I was wearing that day were "water proof" gloves I got at REI or
Gander Mtn or some such place. They were so wet I couldn't take them off
without the liner coming out. I never even knew they had a removeable liner.

All in all it was a very enjoyable day for riding Friday, traffic was light,
the temperature was tolerable with long underwear and leather pants and
jacket and until it started getting slick a little later in the afternoon,
the traction was excellent.

 

If I ever get to retire or get laid off or whatever so I don't have to go to
work
every day, I will get a bike that's designed for long distance comfort and
hit the
road. It will be fitted with windshield and fairing and will hopefully keep
me warm and dry
in even the worst weather. For now as a commuter bike I like my FXDX since
it's nimble,
relatively quick and narrow enought to squeeze between the cars in my
driveway (and elsewhere)
so I'll put up with the cold and wet for those benefits.

I am beginning to believe there is nothing that you can wear that will
absolutely keep you dry
if it's raining hard enough and you're in it long enough. I think the best
I've ever had was some
butt ugly yellow rubber 2 piece suits that kept me dry 99% of the time
until the crotch split like
they all seem to eventually. My current gear is HD brand heavy stuff for
winter wetness. It leaks
of course but is heavy enough to help keep the warmth in too. I also have a
lightweight suit I got from
Wally world I think. It does a decent job keeping the rain out.