Tuesday, March 29, 2011

First commute of 2011

Rather than trying to force the march of time to get to April 1st, which is, after all, a fool's errand, I launched the scoot commute this morning.

Was it cold? Minus three Celsius or 27F is hardly the kind of weather that drives scooter sales.

As you can see, there is no shortage of ice on the lakeshore.
On a positive note, the Cuppini windscreen and Corazzo winter gauntlets did a decent job in preventing my hands from being thoroughly chilled. The fact that the gauntlets are too snug doesn't help ward off the cold though.

The Tourmaster Caliber pants did a wonderful job. Absolutely no chill on my legs whatsoever. They are very comfortable to wear on the bike. They do add a good deal of bulk, but overall, I am very pleased and I am confident that they will become second nature before long. The fact that they are both suitably protective and waterproof is a really big plus. The pockets are a really nice touch.  The only thing that remains to be done is to finish adjusting the position of the knee armor. I have nothing but good things to say as far as the pants are concerned.

The Corazzo underhoody also did its job very well.  I didn't wear the hood on my head as a helmet liner, rather I used it more like a turtleneck to keep the wind from my neck.  I could not feel any gap between my full face helmet and the collar of the Corazzo 5.0 jacket, so I am really very pleased on that score also.  No doubt the windscreen was effective there as well.  There was a little coolness, particularly on my back, which I didn't experience in the past.  I think the windscreen creates a backdraft (pardon the pun).  Not unpleasant, and not enough to cause any upper body chill.

I guess I'll sign off this post with another shot of the waterfront in Lachine near the entrance to the Lachine Canal at the eastern end of Lake St-Louis.

3 comments:

Keith - Circle Blue said...

It truly is all about the gear. I find hands are the most difficult thing to keep warm. I don't run heated grips. Hippo-Hands don't fit on my Symba with the clip-on windscreen. So, I keep experimenting. I'm good down into the 20F's with liners and snowmobile claw gloves, but below that and my fingers get cold.

Glad you got out and about. Good luck.
~Keith

Belkwinith said...

Brrrrrrrrr! No WAY! We are still waiting for 50 degree and above for my commute. Good to know that the windscreen makes a difference. One of my first trips this year will be to Motorworks in Chicago to finally have one installed. Even if it makes my scooter, "less sexy" I am tired of being buffeted by that wind.

Rick said...

Good to hear you're back out on the road, David. Cold be damned.

I bought a heated jacket liner this winter and just started using it. Boy, does it ever make a difference. It has three settings - low, medium and high - but I can't imagine ever needing to turn it above medium. The only time I wasn't sweating with it on medium was when I was on the interstate at 70+ mph for about 15 miles.

If your core is warm it makes it a lot easier to keep the rest of you warm. I don't particularly like the feeling of layers and layers of gear, but since it makes the difference between riding and not riding I guess I'll keep swaddling myself in stuff.

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