Winter Wear
Posted in Neutral on Oct 14th, 2008
I think it might be time to break out my “winter” helmet. I was up in the mountains over the weekend and it was shirt-sleeve weather on the way up, but by the time I came home around midnight it had gotten pretty damn cold. (Well, cold by SoCal standards: 45 degrees or so). That made it not only not shirt-sleeve weather, but also not open-face helmet weather. I couldn’t feel my face!
All summer long I’ve been wearing a Fulmer V2 helmet (the flat black model) which is a 3/4 helmet with an open face. It’s very light, comfortable, looks retro-cool, and I like it a lot — but not at 45 degrees. During our rainy season here in SoCal (like the song says: “It never rains in California … it pours, man, it pours”) I wear a flip-face helmet because A) raindrops hurt at 85 mph, and B) when it rains out here, it’s cold. That helmet would be a KBC FFR, which I highly recommend. It’s lightweight, comfortable, it flips up and locks open solidly with one hand, and it does a fine job of keeping the cold and rain off my delicate face. I wish I’d been wearing it Saturday night.
It’s warmed up again so the Fulmer’s still up to the task, but I’m watching the forecast. If it gets cold again I’m breaking out the FFR. I’m too pretty to be that cold.
I feel your pain. Mornings are getting pretty chilly here in Wisconsin. I don’t wear a helmet as a general rule so when the temps hit 40 degrees, it gets pretty damn cold. The first 10-15 minutes is the worst (until my face numbs up!)
Hey! I know what you mean by the chilly weather. Even with my heated grips and electrified clothing, I still feel cold these days. It can’t possibly be my old blood getting thinner!
Your expired tag escape reminded me of a ride back from Utah a year or so ago. A friend had been riding with his son and his son broke his ankle hiking at Bryce Canyon. So I flew out and rode the son’s bike back to Atlanta for my buddy. There was a mix-up with my license which is another story, but I ended up riding all the way back without my license! At one camp site along the way, I noticed also his son’s bike had expired tags! Here I was dodging cops all the way home, clear across the country. I feel your pain! Keep writing.