Warm Fuzzy Feeling

The holiday season has come and gone, and I have found myself with a new outlook on the winter months. You see, I have the most wonderful girlfriend in the world. On Christmas morning, I opened up my gifts to find... heated clothing! Now this is something I have wanted for years and years and dreamed of one day buying, but they are very expensive- enough so that I would never have thought to ask for them and enough that I hadn't yet gotten up the nerve to make the leap myself. But there they were, inside of a normal, non-descript cardboard box exclaiming on the outside "Do not open with a blade. Try on for 30-day guaranteed fit."

Winter was no longer off-season for me.

As much as I'd have liked to jump up right then and head off into the hills, it was Christmas day- a day spent running all over the place visiting family. Hmmm, I could follow Laura on the bike... No, I would wait. Tomorrow I had nothing to do though.

Well, tomorrow came and I awoke to a snow storm that wouldn't quit. Scratch the 26th... And it would take days to get to the point where the road wasn't covered in snow drifts and sand piles. So the week between Xmas and New Years I was stuck pondering what it would actually be like once the time came.

New Year's Eve came on a Friday and we spent the night entertaining several of our close friends at home, sharing food, wine, and stories. We had the girls and they stayed up to bang pots and pans together as the ball dropped and we plunged head first into another year.

January 1st, 2005

I woke up on January 1st and looked up at the window just above my head. Could it be? A complete palate of sky blue. What better day to try out my new gear than the first day of the year! I couldn't wait. I quickly showered and began getting ready. The battery was put back in the bike, and I began suiting up. It turned out the day was uncharacteristicly hot for January- hitting the high 40's and just barely colder than my 50 degree cut-off for non-heated riding. I'd still get to test out the suit, the first run would be an easy test.

By 2:30 I was ready to go (it was a late night and a late start :) ). With Laura taping on her new videocamera, I plugged in and headed out. In wait and see mode, I just started with the first question that arose- and answered it by turning right out of the driveway.

I decided to keep it local, so I headed toward 1A to do the coastal run from Rye to Hampton. (The power output on the Road Star is lacking and an upgrade will need to be addressed at some point to keep me from being stranded, though I was aware of all of this ahead of time.) I started with the thermostat dialed in at about 25% and it was already warm enough.

I pushed out against the ocean in Rye and was beaming. It's really January 1st! I couldn't believe it. Why didn't I do this sooner?!?

I soon realized I had forgotten to put my bandana on under my hat, without which has a tendancy to want to fly off my head at speeds over 45. Wanting to try it out anyway, I pulled over and switched to my new windblocker balaclava. That worked very impressively as well as I rode along enjoying the day. I continued south to Hampton, before heading back inland and then north toward Portsmouth. I stopped to chat w/ Matt & Courtney, who were licking their wounds from New Years Eve. Soon after I rolled back into the driveway w/ the sun mostly set, 65 miles later. A successful first voyage!

January 2nd

I woke up Sunday intent on giving my new gear a tougher test. This time, temps were only in the high 20's- conditions which I would never have been able to tackle prior to the Gerbing suit. First, I helped draw the holiday season to a close by taking down the Christmas tree and cleaning up with Laura. After the chores were out of the way, I again suited up and took to the streets. I headed in a general north west direction and after an hour or so found myself in Dover. I stopped by Brian & Karen's house and nearly gave Brian a heart attack when he opened the door lazily. He looked up to see a leather clad figure with a completely covered head, including ski goggles to block the only opening in the balaclava. I almost pissed my pants at his jump. I shot the shit for a half hour or so before continuing on.

I headed north, still entirely cozy and psyched to see first hand how much extra range I have gained in riding temps. I headed up 16b into Rochester and originally thought I'd head into Maine in a big loop that would bring me home. Instead I decided I'd head toward Karl's house in Wolfeboro. It was already 3:30, and I knew the sun would set in about an hour. I wasn't worried about the impending darkness and pushed on. I took the beautiful 153, then diverting onto Middleton rd, for the last backroad push to Wolfeboro.

About 3/4 of the way north I started giving more consideration to my trip and a closer look toward the skies. My quick check of the day's forcast before I ventured out came back into mind, after being thoroughly discarded. It had shown "wintery mix" with a giant cloud full of mixed precipitation heading my way. At the time, it was still in New York, having yet to cross into Vermont. But that had been a few hours ago, and I started visualizing the repercussions of hitting snow while away from home on the bike. After a minute of continued consideration, I decided to turn around and begin heading south. The last thing I needed was to be stranded in Wolfeboro on a Sunday night- I had to work in the morning. I did continue to press my luck by avoiding the highway and most direct line home. I rode back into Rochester and then Dover, via N. Berwick & Somersworth.

As I hit Dover I grew a bit more concerned- I began getting small drops of rain on my ski goggles and gas tank, all the while knowing it was still in the high 20's. This was a recipe for a bad time. I crossed my fingers and headed toward home. My luck held and the drops ceased.

I rolled into the driveway at 5:00, 100 miles later. As I pulled in the driveway I could see on the pavement ice particles that had recently fallen to the ground. OK, I would need to pay close attention to the weather when riding this time of year, that much was for sure. Laura was sure to express how freaked out she was, especially after seeing it begin to sleet while I was still out riding. I hadn't hit that myself, but could have...

There are plenty of additional hazards to watch out for this time of year- the chance of precipitation, gravel, ice patches, drivers that have forgotten what a motorcycle is... These are things to keep aware of.

But nothing I can't handle while I enjoy taking it all in, passing frozen lakes and snow drifts, seeing the world roll by...