Getting It Right
Thursday, April 27th, 2023
At least on the Elephant Ride nobody guesses wrong about how warmly they need to dress.
How many times have you gone out on your motorcycle and discovered you had not dressed appropriately for the weather? More to the point, how many times have you found yourself thoroughly chilled because you had not anticipated how cold it would be?
If you’re like me you can’t begin to count how many times it has happened because it has happened so very often.
Of course, if you pack away extra layers you can easily stop and put on more if need be, but stopping is an annoyance and also not a great thing if you’re riding with other people. So I try to take a worst-case approach and over-dress just a bit. But sometimes even then I underestimate the cold.
The times I kick myself the most is when I have underestimated the cold and did not pack extra layers. Now I’m really sunk. And I have done that more than just a couple times.
With that kind of background, I inevitably end up over-dressing at times. Boy did I do that the other day.
I looked at the weather app on my phone and it said it was only 40 degrees outside. Yeah, OK, that calls for some very warm layers. Besides my usual t-shirt and flannel shirt I put on my electric vest and a sweatshirt under my leather jacket. That should do it.
I fired up the bike, my Concours, and only then realized that when I had replaced the battery a few days earlier I had left the dongle for the vest tucked under the seat. Now to plug the vest in I would have to stop the bike and pull the key to get the seat off. I didn’t want to do that so I figured OK, if I really get cold I will stop and do it then. But first I’ll just see. Besides, it really didn’t seem like only 40 degrees.
I took off and it was a terrific day to ride. Very comfortable; no need for electrics. I rode a bunch of roads I’ve been on numerous times but this time I put together the route a bit differently than I ever have before, which made it more interesting. And I noticed I was pretty darn warm. But I didn’t do anything about it.
When I go riding by myself it is common for me to just ride–no stopping. And as long as I was riding I was not overly hot, although I was definitely aware that the warmth was a bit much.
Then I got home and stopped and suddenly I was roasting. Did it really warm up that much in an hour? I pulled out my phone and checked the weather app and it was still saying 40 degrees. Really? I tapped it and then it updated. Now it said 68. OK.
One weakness in this app that I have noticed before is that it only updates whenever it darn well feels like it. I’m guessing if I had updated it before I took off it would have shown something closer to 50 or even higher. Just another lesson learned.
Biker Quote for Today
Nothing is harder to start than a used motorcycle being shown to a prospective buyer.
