Cold Weather Riding Cold Weather Gear Gear Needed to Ride
Any one that lives in an area that has cold weather in the winter months is familiar with the idea of a wind chill factor. It is usually only a factor if the wind is blowing. Even if there is absolutely no wind, the fact that you are riding a motorcycle that doesn't surround you with glass and steel, means that you will feel the full effect of the wind as your ride. This will create an artificial wind chill factor. This may not seem like much, but consider as you go down the highway at 60mph, that is the equivalent of a 60mph gale. This will drastically reduce the temperature that you feel on your body.
To counter this effect, and make the riding in cold weather safer, we will start from the head down, all the way to your feet. There are articles of clothes at each body part that will help with this problem.
Whether or not you are a helmet person, it is a good idea in cold weather. You lose a lot of body heat through the top of your head. If you are wearing a helmet, it keeps your brain warm. This will release blood to other parts of your body. Parts that need it like your hands and fingers. If the helmet you wear is a full face helmet, that pretty much covers it.
If the helmet you are wearing is the "brain bucket" type, you need to do a few extra things. Since you don't have a face shield, you will need to protect your face from the onslaught of the cold wind. Sunglasses won't be enough for this. You need to cover (at lest the bottom half) of your face with a cover. A bandanna will work but it is not completely windproof. You can get face covers that are made of windproof material especially for riding bikes. For the top part of your face, you need to wear some sort of eye wear that covers as much as possible. Remember the goal here is to have as little skin open to the wind as possible.
An often overlooked part of your head area is the neck and especially the back of the neck. You can use a scarf if that is your thing but another option is more conventional. If you wear a hooded sweatshirt (hoody) with the hood up under your helmet, you will protect the back and part of the front of your neck.
As you move down to your torso, the simple answer is leather. Believe it or not, the leather jacket is not just to look cool. It serves several purposes. One is protection from road rash as well as bugs, gravel etc. hitting you at 60mph. The other is that leather is windproof. The downside is that once leather gets cold, it stays cold. If you dress in layers, you can avoid this. The hooded sweatshirt mentioned earlier is a good way to achieve this.
Gloves are very, very important. Your hands are going to take the brunt of the cold air. This becomes a major problem because so many of the necessary controls on a motorcycle are located on the handlebars. Depending on the temperature you may want to double up on the gloves. Wear a pair of smaller tight fitting gloves under a larger pair of leather ones. The outer gloves need to be "gauntlet" style. These will enable the cuff to go over the sleeve of your jacket. This stop wind from racing up your sleeve. All the cold weather gear is useless if the air can get inside it.
While they may not be the most stylish, leather riding chaps are a must. Even if you have a windscreen, your legs will be exposed. Wearing jeans with the leather chaps over them will stop you from feeling any of the wind. They are also another layer of "armor" that protects you from road debris that is kicked up by other vehicles. Make sure they fit correctly and don't allow wind to go up the bottom of your legs. Like the gloves, if cold air gets inside, all your protection is useless.
Last but certainly not least is your footwear. Even though you should always wear boots, it is very important in cold weather. Many riders will wear steel toe boots. In normal weather this is a good idea, but if it is cold, that steel toe will make your feet freeze. It is a good idea to double up on your socks as well.
That covers the basics of what you should wear in cold weather. There are other factors to take into account of course. If there is snow or ice on the the ground, don't ride. It is just too dangerous. As long as the roads are clear and the temperature is the only obstacle, there is no reason not to ride. You only have to bundle up a little bit more. You can still enjoy the thrill of riding with no major problems.
