It's 34° Outside, Do You Know Where Your Gloves Are?

Chances are, most riders wouldn't dare head out in weather this cold. However, some of my favorite riding memories come from days that started out like this. But the weakest link has always been my gloves.

When I started riding in the cold, I layered up (a good idea) under and over my traditional leathers (not such a good idea). I got cold and stayed cold. It seemed that layering just didn't work. (As a side note, traditional leathers "leak" air and don't block much - if any wind. However, applying waterproofing - test it first! - helps as do cold-specific leather/fabric jackets and riding pants that have already been prepared for blocking the wind and use a goretex or another synthetic liner.)

Then I heard about heated gear and thought to myself, "There's no way my older bike could power a device like that."

When I moved to San Antonio, ironically I found some of the best cold-weather gear I've used to date: A one-piece suit from First Gear (which I've heard has been discontinued) and some dedicated cold-weather gloves that were roomy enough to fit a glove liner (liners are available inexpensively at large sporting goods stores and are great for cold hikes, too). That worked pretty well until they started falling apart after a couple of season's use.

I bought a newer bike (the FJR) and later a dual purpose bike (the XT) and continued exploring my options. The XT had a neat feature: handguards. This blocked a lot of wind and didn't make my gloves (and thus my hands) work so hard. So the XT became my primary winter transportation for a riding season.

After I sold the XT, I heard about adding handguards from a Suzuki V-strom and installing heated grips to my FJR here. So, I bought the necessary materials and installed the handguards
and heated grips relatively inexpensively. (Working in the industry has its perks, after all.)

The heated grips are very nice when the air turns slightly cool after riding in warm weather all day. However, they're not as practical in very cold weather and they cannot be felt well wearing thick gloves. They also draw enough power to make running my accessory lights at night (when it's colder) to put me at risk of draining the battery and over-taxing my charging system.

The handguards work very well. They don't stop the cold, but the break the wind, protecting all by my wrists and finger tips. In cool weather with lighter gloves, this is partially remedied by the heated grips. The wrists are usually taken care of by gauntlet-style gloves or a wind-breaking riding jacket. The only problem - which doesn't really apply to me - lies in the inappropriate appearance on a sport bike. But if you're going to ride in the cold, who cares when it works?

I still don't use electric gear as I am particularly not fond of tangling myself in wiring mounting and dismounting the bike or even the possible unfortunate consequences during a crash. But, like all things riding, one must evaluate the risk and manage it as you see fit.

Happy cold weather riding!