December 26, 2010

Little red rooster was peckin' in the yard
Said put the bike in the garage before it starts to snow hard

Well, I had to put in a picture of something...

I was hoping to finally find out why they call this boxer day but it just wasn't really a day for long ride. It's cold and the weatherman has been predicting a foot of snow starting in the middle of the day. Tim took a wait-and-see attitude via e-mail with the implied threat that he might not be in any condition to get up in time for an early start. Dave was iffy on identifying any firehouse breakfasts on the day after Christmas.

I got up early and checked e-mail for updates on plans. Unbeknownst to me, my cell phone had decided it could not find the Verizon network but spent the night trying with the result that the battery was dead and I missed the call and voice mail from Dave. Being fairly oblivious so early in the morning, I suited up and headed out towards Reading taking the long route up 662 through the Oley Valley where the temperature was around 26. Not too bad, but when I swung into the ATM in Oley for some Jacksons, I took the opportunity to crank the Gerbing up to full force. After a quick stop to top up gas at Redner's Quick Stop, I headed across the ridge on Pricetown Road towards Reading. The temperature dropped to 23 degrees.

Now one of the fundamental questions I have been looking for an answer to is "How low can you go?", meaning in temperature on the motorcycle with the current winter gear. Turns out the answer lies somewhere between 23 and 26 degrees. Over the past month and a half, I have ridden in 26-28 degree weather several times and made out fine with the electrics on, but even with the jacket and hand grips cranked up to high, 23 was just too damn cold. So now we know. Problem one was face protection. At 23 the point of my chin and my cheekbones were burning. Problem two, shoulders and upper arms were cold even though the electric jacket felt hot. Also, legs were getting chilly. Amazingly, when I got back to 26 going back through the Oley Valley, these problems eased up. So there is a very definite break point between basically comfortable and unbearable right in that temperature range. Looks like we will have to bulk up a little further (I am looking at the Aerostich face fleece this afternoon) to be able to ride reliably in the 20's. For now we are geared up for anything down to 30's with the occasional dip into the upper 20's. Not bad.