A lot of nothing and my cold hand theory

A lot of nothing and my cold hand theory.

Well the last few weeks I’ve done no riding what so ever.  No trails, no trials and no road riding.  This can be put down to several factors, personal, professional and the bloody lousy weather we’ve been having.  Call me a tart, I don’t really care, but I see no fun in riding when it’s freezing cold and pouring with rain.  Cold and wet equals misery and I also don’t want to cover the Triumph in crap and road salt.  As for the other reasons, I’ve just started a new job and knowing my history off road riding, I thought it would be wise if I gave it a miss for a while.  The last thing I wanted was to start my new career then have an accident and need time off; I really don’t think they’d appreciate it.

So what have I been up too?  Well spending money is the simple answer.  As I’ve said, I think, in previous stories is that I go to many shows with lists of things I’d like to buy, but never end up doing so.  I want to be comfortable in my riding, warm when it’s cold, cool when it’s hot but most of all just comfortable.  A few years ago I brought a Knox cold killers neck tube. The maxi one.  I think that it’s been one of the best things I’ve ever bought for my biking travels clothes wise.  It’s light and comfortable, I have asthma and can’t bare anything tight around my throat so normal snoods are generally too tight and therefore out of the question.  The Knox is also windproof and as far as I have found waterproof.  One of the things I find that makes me uncomfortable when winter riding is the cold.  Plain and simple.  Once riding the cold seems to find its way in through all the little gaps, like the cuffs, waist, neck, the zipper at the front of the jacket and even around the ankles.

We’re all different but once I start getting cold it’s my hands that suffer.  I have tried many things to try and keep my hands warm from glove liners to big thermal winter gloves, I even have heated grips.  The problem is that when you have thick gloves on you lose your feel for the throttle and levers, if you don’t wear them then your hands get cold creating the same effect.  The heated grips are great for warming the palms of your hands, but if your hands get cold they don’t really warm them up.  So I now have a new theory, which is; the reason my hands get cold is because my core is getting cold.  Therefore the body starts drawing all the blood away from the extremities.  If I can keep my core warm then in theory my hands will remain warm.  Well that’s the theory.

The first thing then was to stop the drafts getting in.  The theory and key behind this insulating practice is layers.  From what I can understand, in my limited knowledge of this subject, is to wear lots of thin layers, which are not meant to be too tight as each layer is supposed to trap and warm air between them.  Apparently you have three layers a base layer, a mid layer, then to top it off an outer layer.

Starting from the top, the neck is the first place the drafts get in, but the Knox neck tube had already eliminated this, as I said earlier I have the maxi tube which covers the shoulders and chest.  It also covers the nose and around the ears, so once the helmet is on you’re all snug and sealed in.

Next was the trunk, body or whatever else you’d like to call it. I have recently brought a nice leather Triumph jacket and although it has a zip flap, whilst riding in the colder weather the first thing I feel is the cold coming through and chilling my chest. Of course in really bad weather I wouldn’t bother venturing out and if I did have to I would wear a touring type jacket with many flaps to stop this.  However I digress. I think this is where I probably lose the most of my body core heat.  I was so impressed with the Knox neck tube that I have now brought a Knox top it has been designed to keep the frontal wind blast out by using the same material as the neck tube it is also micro fleeced to keep you warm and comfortable the back of the top is breathable so you don’t get too hot. It’s important not to get too hot because it you sweat the moisture will cause you to get cold and all this would have gone to waste.

The cuffs are eliminated as the Knox top base layer has good arm length and it also has elasticated cuffs these can be over lapped with glove liners and summer gloves and, or decent winter gloves that cover the cuff and overlaps by a few inch’s

The mid drift is the next big area where the cold can get in, I have also recently brought the Knox leggings these come with a good sized elasticated waste, the top has plenty of length so it’s just a simple procedure of making sure you have tucked the top in properly.  I would also recommend zipping the Jacket to the trousers if it is at all possible.

I have also been fortunate to have been able to get some nice Triumph leather jeans.  I have yet to wear them in the summer and I expect when I do I won’t need the leggings but for now in these cold winter months the leggings are on.  Once again I chose the ones made by Knox only really because I was so impressed by the neck tube. In keeping with the top the leggings have the windproof top to help them to protect the top and front of the legs from wind blast whilst the back is breathable. It has also been made for the biker in mind and has a flexible knee area.  I do however have a problem with the leggings.  When walking around they’re fine, once on the bike they’re fine, it’s the bit in between that’s the problem.  You see when you walk about the leggings move, so when you go to get back on the bike everything is out of line and you stand there or sit on the bike adjusting everything for a minute or so just to get comfortable.

The ankles are the last piece to the puzzle, my old Kevlar lined denim jeans used to bunch at the bottom and eventually after a long ride come out of the boot, the new leather jeans are tapered so I can’t see that happening now, but in keeping with the rest of what I have written the Knox leggings have a nice elasticated ankle.  Some of the most comfortable bike socks I have found are the Fox thick motocross socks. They are shaped around the foot and have a padded shin and are long.  In the winter there thickness keeps the winter chills away and in the summer they are meant to wick the moisture away from your feet keeping the cool and comfortable.  I do like them very much, but on the down side don’t find them to last very long.  The sock covers the leggings considerably that combine with the new jeans tucked securely into the boot should now mean warm comfortable riding.

So the next time there is a nice sunny but cold day that I can venture out on bike, I will be putting my theory to the test.

On the theme buying things I also treated myself to a new helmet as the one I have was getting old.  I currently have a Shoei and love the fit and the helmet, but ever since I started riding I’ve always fancied a Roof Boxer which has gone through several different changes and has now become the Roof Boxer V8.  I remember when I tried on the original Roof helmet for the first time, my brother was buying a ZX9R and the shop had the helmets on display.  I picked a medium off of the shelf and put it on, so far so good.  It felt comfortable and snug I then continued to pull down the chin bar and clicked it into place.  I was pleased with the fit but this is when my troubles started, I hadn’t looked to see how to release the chin bar.  My brother and I struggled for a minute or so trying to un-pop the poppers but to no avail.  Frustrated that I couldn’t get the chin bar up I decided to take it off the conventional way, but that wasn’t going to happen as the chin bar fit’s under the chin so it wasn’t coming off.  Then to add more embarrassment to an already awkward situation a female sales assistant came over and asked if I needed any help.  I had to admit my predicament, but my entrapment wasn’t over as the sales assistant didn’t have a clue how to realise the chin bar either.  What seemed like an age later the chin bar was finally released and up and I was out of the helmet. Any way I have now purchased the new Boxer V8 and so far I’m happy with it, I have however not used it in anger and one of the things I am concerned about which I like about the Shoei is that it has no pin lock, and I’m worried that the visor will fog up.  I will however write a full report on the helmet once I’ve given it a fair trial.