It was windy. It was cold. It was a damn cold ride after work. I went on my favorite country road ride and actually enjoyed the ride for almost 30 minutes. Then I felt the cold. No matter how many layers I had on, I was cold. In fact, I think this was the only ride that I thought, "damn it...it's cold. I want to go home. wahhh..." Wouldn't you know it. I hit a lot of red lights and stopped behind cars that stopped in the road to let others in front of them (a GA phenomenon). So, although the temp reads 46, the winds were ~30mph, bringing the windchill in the 30's. And, that's not even moving. So, brrrr... Hmmm... riding sideways into the wind a few times was fun. After I got home I made some hot tomato soup, a grilled cheese sandwich, and poured a glass of cheap wine. ahhh...

On another note...I think the hubby really wants me to get the 883 Iron. Well, at least I like the bike a lot. I'm sure I will start whining for the conversion kit by summer.

It's waaayyy too cold to ride around here. I don't even want to ride. I just look at my bike and occasionally sit on her...awww poor thing... It's supposed to warm up to the 50s tomorrow and Friday. As long as it's not too windy I'm riding. Man the wind chill has been just bone chilling lately. Today on my way home from work I actually passed someone on their bike. It was a large Euro style bike. Dude was probably wearing heated riding clothes. nice dude...I tip my hat...

Stupid asthma... I took my allergy test and they had to stop it almost as soon as it started. I'm severely allergic to dogs, cats, some local pollen, and ....drum roll...mold. I wouldn't normally have a bad reaction (I grew up w/ cats) but, I've been exposed to a lot lately. Apparently, my immune system is all up in arms causing my respiratory system lots of grief. I have to start immunotherapy (allergy shots) twice a week here in a bit. My lung function super sucks. My latest test revealed only a minor improvement, which means my lungs really do super suck. The doctor even sent me an email informing me of such only an hour or so after I left the asthma clinic. I guess I'm starting to worry about my super sucky lungs and my hyper sensitive immune system. The doc wrote me a note for work so I don't have to work in the mold infested building during my immunotherapy treatment. I have more asthma/allergy meds to take. After my latest brilliant idea of walking up a flight of stairs to test the ole air bags...and swiftly having to deal with the consequences...I decided to not test the waters anymore until my lung function improves. I sure don't want to die from a bad asthma attack. that would just piss me off...

I've been out and about riding in the cold. To try and cope with the cold weather I asked my hubby for Scorpion Exo Haley riding pants for Christmas. Then I followed up with a request for the Scorpion Elektra coat for my birthday. I also asked for new boots because my old boots are old and the soles are smooth. So, I'm geared up... this is my solution to riding in the cold weather. Now the man thinks that I'm a "nut job" for even wanting to ride in the cold. But, I've always loved the cold weather. When I rode horses, I rode year round no matter the temperature. So, why not ride in the cold? Let me define cold as riding in the 40s with a wind chill in the 30s (of course its much worse when you are actually riding). While it's not Christmas yet nor my birthday, I'm using my gear now since I'm riding now. makes sense to me... :) Anyway, the pants are really warm. I only wear "thermal" pants under the leather pants (they are awesome). The coat is about as warm as my other leather coat, but it is longer and it does have some armor, so its better. I still have to wear multiple layers and a leather vest under the coat (5 layers under the coat + the liner).

Anyone else out there in the cold? Love it? Hate it?

This is me after a cold ride to work. brrr... How come my nose looks so big? I hate that... sigh...

I like riding in the cold weather. I like overcast days and cloudy skies. I like it when my bike performs better in the cold. And I really like the cold brisk air in my face. :) I don't like my bike taking forever to warm up, but that's ok. Let me qualify these statements by stating that I don't ride below 39 F. Also, if it is that cold outside I won't ride over 30 minutes. Why? Well, if it's too cold I can't operate the clutch or brake levers correctly because my fingers become numb. Plus, it's a bad thing when your core temperature drops too much.

So to the only other biker I saw out on the road the other morning on my way to work -big wave and a smile (we gave each other big waves...aww...).

:)

This morning I waited and waited until I decided to ride up to work. I mean it was 34 degrees when I woke up this morning. Now you know I do not like skipping a riding day, so I checked weather.com to see if it would at least warm up to 40 something before I absolutely had to leave for work. I waited... until it warmed up to 39 degrees and took off. I mean...39 is close to 40 right??? Man, I wore 3 shirts (2 long sleeved), 1 turtle neck wool sweater, my leather vest, my leather coat with liner, heavy gauntlet gloves (tucked in the sleeves), a neck warmer thingee, thick hiking socks, and my chaps. I felt warm, but man... my ears were cold (next time I will actually pull up the face piece of my neck thingee), my fingers were a little cold, and by the time I arrived at work...my thighs were cold. brrr... but the ride home was nicer at 55 degrees. In fact, I made up an excuse to go to the store to get one more ride in for the day after I got home. Now, here's the zinger... we have dudes working on our roof...their van is blocking our driveway which is at the top of a fairly steep hill. I managed to squeeze between their work truck and my house but as I got off the bike to walk it between a debris pile and my garage...I could feel the bike laying down. "no baby...no...so close..." But, yes, I gently laid her down on the debris pile (since once you pass the balance point the bike is going down...it is 400 pounds and I'm 118 pounds -I'm not winning this battle). I said a little curse, hoped nobody saw it (which, no one did), and did the butt to saddle crank the bars and pick yer own damn bike up maneuver. There was only a little debris on a few parts and no noticeable scratches. sigh... at least I know I can pick up my own bike... sigh...