So I've had my ninja for about a month now. On Christmas my dad wanted to go down to my grandmother's house but I couldn't go with him due to my work schedule the day after xmas, so what better time to take my first bike trip right?
I got off work after my 12 hr shift on Christmas eve at around 8 pm so it was already dark by then. Luckily my riding pants had just come in that day. The first pair I had ordered were too small and I thought for sure the second pair wouldn't arrive until after Christmas. Thank goodness they did arrive though because there's no way I could have made it through this trip with jeans.

I started off in Austin, TX and headed for Shiner, TX which is about 100 miles away so at least it wasn't too far. I was following my dad who was in his car so I wouldn't have to worry about looking down at a map in the dark. The temperature was around 35 degrees, at least it wasn't freezing. The ride itself was pretty fun. Almost the entire way there I was talking to myself as if I was vlogging. It really helped keep me awake and attentive, y'all should try it sometime when you're driving at night. :D I had to stop about 25 miles from our destination just to get my fingers warm. Everything else was quite warm apart from my fingers and toes.

We arrived at our destination and had a merry christmas and then I left by myself around 3 pm on Christmas day. I am highly tempted to get a GPS as my only form of directions on the trip back was a scrap paper taped to my tank with very simple instructions. The trip back was a lot warmer though and it was sunny outside so I felt a lot better. On some of the smaller roads with nobody in sight I couldn't resist cranking it up to 95mph for a couple seconds. I definitely wasn't going to risk sustained speeding though.
I arrived home, picked up some things, and then rode to my mom's house. She finally saw my motorycle that I had spoken very little about at all (IE: I mentioned I took an MSF course) and luckily she didn't freak out too much...
Then I rode home and slept. The end.

As for what I was wearing to stay warm
- balaclava under my helmet
- underarmour
- t-shirt
- cycling arm warmers
- fleece jacket
- motorcycle jacket
- keffiyeh (middle-eastern scarf that blocks wind well)
- thick gloves
- undies
- long undies
- cycling leg warmers
- AlpineStars Urban DNS pants
- 2x socks
- boots
Layers really do work.

Unfortunately I don't have any pics.

thanx for sharing your ride with us...glad you made the round trip incident free

...did you say 35 degrees?!? :ohno:

i have no idea what THAT must feel like :noidea:

happy new year!
:party:

yeah man i have ridden in about 35 degrees and its not to bad for about 10-15 minutes, but after that its hell. I need to invest in a balaclava, where did you get yours and how much? More props to you though for getting out and riding in the cold, i don't want to ride 5 minutes to work when its that cold out, plus i am do for maintenance (which will be done this weekend).

Glad you enjoyed it though!!!

yeah man i have ridden in about 35 degrees and its not to bad for about 10-15 minutes, but after that its hell. I need to invest in a balaclava, where did you get yours and how much? More props to you though for getting out and riding in the cold, i don't want to ride 5 minutes to work when its that cold out, plus i am do for maintenance (which will be done this weekend).

Glad you enjoyed it though!!!

my dad actually got me the balaclava for chrismas. I think he got it from the campmor catalog but I dont know how much it was. I plan on becoming pro at cold/blisteringly hot weather riding as it's my only mode of transportation :p

oh damn, your only mode, i guess you will get used to it some way or another. I actually have a pretty good jacket for both. its a joe rocket pheonix i believe (not right in fron of me), that has a wet insert in it. It blocks out wind really well and when its hot i just take out the insert and it breaths great. Gloves are really the only hot thing in the summer though.

Here's what I normally wear for 35 and below...

Full Face Helmet.
Leather neckscarf that velcros
T-shirt
Fleece
Scorpion Exo jacket w/liner
Undies
Jeans
Turbine Snowboarding Pants
Wool socks
Boots
Gloves

I can ride all day in 35deg weather even in the rain...no problems.

link to face velcro thing if you can find it on the internet or where you purchased it

mines usually like this

Full face helmet (only one i have)
T shirt wrapped around my lower face
jacket with liner
gloves with knit gloves under it
undies
jeans
sweat pants
boots

brrrrrrrrrrrrr thats too cold for me. On one of my last trips it was almost 50 degrees and was wearing lots of layers with my leathers and was still cold so i invested in a heated jacket for now. Next step will be heated gloves and pants and a scarf. :thumbup: on the undies :D

Can definitely sympathize with the frosty fingers kevlarorc, but likewise glad you made the trip w/o incident. Be careful of windchill; the 35F was likely closer to 12F at 90mph.

Rode around in 30F for about two hours today. All I can say is I really really want some heated gloves, tired of blue fingertips... I bought some Rev'it! Unix H2O that claim to be waterproof winter gloves, but they're no good below about 40F despite being wonderfully waterproof. Other'n that just gotta keep eyes open for ice, gravel and people too frozen to care they're walking in the street. :smow:

My cold weather setup is:
Scorpion Full face helmet w/ aero skirt
Wind/Water Balaclava (http://www.motorcycle-superstore.com/3/11/367/12140/ITEM/Comfort-In-Action-ST---Wind-Balaclava.aspx) - don't reccomend this specific one as cold air is free to come in the back of the neck
T-shirt
Sweater/Fleece
Fieldsheer Aqua Sport TX w/ liner
Skivvies
Jeans
Fieldsheer Mercury overpants w/ Liner
Wool socks
Sidi B-2 boots (not super for cold, but rather have armor than not)

One problem I had with the balaclava is that since my breath couldn't go down anymore it went straight up to my nose/eyes and fogged up my glasses and visor. It's not too bad when my visor fogs up since I can just lift it and reseat it but my glasses don't unfog very quickly so it can be quite dangerous.
I ended up riding with the mouth area of the balaclava underneath my chin. I think it kept the rest of my head plenty warm though.
I've been thinking of getting some silk under-gloves though for some added warmth on long trips.

yeah, when i had the shirt aroundmy face, helmet would fog up, but honestly my mouth isn't the thing that gets cold its my chin, so that probably still would be better than nothing.

One problem I had with the balaclava is that since my breath couldn't go down anymore it went straight up to my nose/eyes and fogged up my glasses and visor.

Same problem here, but similar level of concern: nil regarding the face shield

This is pretty similar to what I have.
http://www.leatherconnexion.com/Leather-Motorcycle-Riding-Scarf-P695C346.aspx

Its basically a leather triangle, with some fleece on the backside and velcro tabs to attach it around your neck. They work great.

Layering under regular gear works well. I use my Cross Country underwear and shirt and then some wind resistant vests/sweaters. It keeps the body core warm which helps keeping the extremities warm. That said I have yet to find something that can keep my hands warm. Heated gloves or grips seems to be the next step.