Wednesday, October 5, 2011
Gear advice please!
I have a textile jacket & pants with rain liners. It is supposed to rain all weekend and I have to ride 5 hours on Saturday and Sunday. I need to stay warm and dry. I need some advice here from all you seasoned riders. *Sunday I do the skills test. Your comments and suggestions are welcome.
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
12 comments:
Dar:
I am sure that what you have already will be waterproof, it will only be your gloves that will get soaked, wear those sanitary gloves inside, and if necessary, small garbage bags over your socks before you put on your boots
bob
Riding the Wet Coast
Thanks Bob! I feel like I am coming down with a cold, it couldn't come at a worse time. Keep your fingers crossed for me that it doesn't turn into a full blown cold. Hope you are staying dry.
Snicklefritz
You should bring a change of clothes in case one gets wet and extra gloves, if you have them.
BTW, we took the beginner MSF class during a Nor'easter and the advanced MSF class during a tropical storm. They were both memorable.
Wear long johns under your textile pants and layer shirts under your textile jacket. You can also spray your riding gear with something like 'Camp Dry' for extra waterproofing.
Good luck, you'll do fine.
The absolute best although expensive is Aerostich gear, but for now I am currently looking at Frogg Toggs Road Toad rain gear to fit over my riding gear. On such short notice the best thing to do (if you don't have some in your closet) is run down to your local discount department store and buy an inexpensive rain jacket and pants to wear over your mesh/liner gear. It's not pretty but you won't be doing highway speeds and right now you need function not frosting.
To stay warm, Trobairitz is right about layering but be careful it doesn't impede your mobility. I concur with Bob about using shopping bag booties and bring extra gloves(pretreated with camp dry)if you got 'em.
Good luck.
THANK YOU GUYS! You are all the best!
Dar, bring a second scarf, once drenched you might have water trickle down your back, and that is the worst. Hope you are feeling well enough to do it. Good luck!
Layer with fleece or wool under breathable rain jacket. I've have seen mention of Frogg Toggs and I plan to one day have one of those suits in my scoot bag that I can just pull over my whole attire.
Good luck! Hope you feel better soon!
Thank you. Cold symptoms are abating right now, keeping my fingers crossed that it says that way. My poor kid has been persevering all week at school, I am going to let her stay home tomorrow,she's exhausted.
I am going to get my gear ready tomorrow & then I will be all set. I am driving my VW Westfalia to the course so I can have a fresh change of clothes and towel, etc. Practiced u-turns tonight, I seem to need more practice with going in the righthand direction.
In my experience, bad forecasts are about as accurate as good ones. Here's wishing you the best possible luck with the weather.
I have pants, an overjacket, and gloves that are all supposed to be waterproof, and the only thing that hasn't failed at it's job at some point is the jacket.
If you don't already have waterproof overclothes, the suggestion from Toubadour makes sense to me. WalMart or Canadian Tire could offer a quick and very effective solution. My local motorsports dealer swears by some inexpensive waterproof booties that they sell, but I haven't tried them. If it turns out to be light intermittent rain, you should be fine. If it turns out to be 5 hours of steady and heavy rain, and if you manage to stay comfy and dry, rush back here and share the recipe.
Best of luck!
Dar:
Dar, I just realized that you are my "kind of girl", I love Westphalia's, I had a mustard one and wouldn't mind getting another one, except they are so old now. Do you smell like exhaust fumes ? "cause everytime I drove it I had to wash my hair . . . but not as bad as following a 2-stroke scooter
bob
Riding the Wet Coast
Bob - lol ours is a 1985, so kinda of modernish. I doesn't have any exhaust problems. My 74 super beetle has a little exhaust stink to it. I think I need to get into this century with my vehicles. Some of my motorcycle classmates are a little envious, because I can heat up soup and have a comfy place to change my gear. What I have found is when the Goldzilla breaks down she costs a lot of money to fix, thats the only problem with them. Our van (Goldzilla) likes to breakdown out of the blue when we are on holidays. Every year we have to budget extra cashola to pay for her temper tantrums. Last year it was $2000 a gasket went behind the fly wheel and soaked the clutch in oil, I found that out just as I was stepping off a platform at a zipline place, my cell rang & it was the mechanic getting authorization to fix it. I thought about unhooking..... They are cool vehicles though, way better than tenting and you are dry and warm.
Next vehicle I get is going to be a new motorcycle!
Post a Comment