Open Road Biker

They ran 168 MPH in an all electric powered motorcycle pushing the equivalent of 500 HP. Killacycle who has been making headlines for the past few months for their incredible electric motorcycle, wowed the crowd with a record breaking pass on Friday (NOV 10th). They managed to turn a 7.824 in the 1/4 and I imagine they are not going to stop there. They have been steadily increasing the power and speed the bike makes. The last run that was publisized they managed to run a mere 8.168 seconds at 155.78 MPH! Now what if your ride ran that fast?

Check out the video;

You may have also seen this video of his infamous burnout/crash;

Well I headed out on a ride yesterday hoping to head up to Dover, TN to the Fort Donelson National Battlefield to honor the veterans of our nation’s civil war. I saw the cloudy skies but thought that maybe they will pass or the rain wouldn’t be too hard but I guess I was just being too optimistic. I got about fifteen miles up the road and it started raining a little. I thought to myself that it wasn’t bad so I kept on. Then the heavy drops and light hail started coming down and I decided that with it being kind of cold I really didn’t want to be riding in rain that hard so I pulled over and was going to try and wait it out (I left my rain gear at home like an idiot). Well the rain decided that it didn’t want to get lighter so after about thirty minutes I decided to saddle up and go back home. I climbed on and headed back in a nice and heavy rain and before long my pants was soaked and water was pouring into my boots from my pants. I rolled on the throttle a little more, confident in the Metzler Tires that I had just put on the night before and tried to make it to the house a little sooner. By the time I got back home my legs were so cold that they weren’t working properly but my jacket had kept my upper body warm. I guess from now on I am going to be packing my rain gear. I usually put it off as long as I can but I guess that it’s that time of the year. I plan to do a make-up ride down to the battlefield next Sunday so be looking for that article, in the mean while be sure to wear the right gear and take along other stuff just in case. I hate to turn back, and now that I am riding alone it is so much easier because there is no one to worry about but me. Hopefully taking my stuff with me will prevent turn back disease next time.

Well it is almost that time again. A few of you will be moth balling your bike for the winter, some live in warm climates and have great weather all year long, and then there are those of us that are going to ride no matter what. No matter which of those you are ensure that you dress right for those fall and winter rides. Now I ain’t talking about no fashion show on two wheels, you need to dress for the elements. Hypothermia can set in real fast while on a motorcycle if you are not real careful. So what is hypothermia?

Hypothermia;
Well acording to Dictionary.com it is

an abnormally low body temperature, often caused by prolonged exposure to cold.

Some of the symptoms include uncontrollable shivering, slowed heart rate resulting in lower blood pressure, confusion, and loss of memory. Hypothermia is deadly and can kill even after you have been warmed back up in some extreme cases because of your bodies weakened state mostly from pneumonia.

You may wonder how it can happen; well with the blowing wind flying across your body at 60 to 70 mph stealing away your body heat it happens rather quickly and before you know it your core body temperature is falling to dangerous levels. So how do you prevent falling prey to such a sneaky bastard? In the army we use the acronym COLD for a few tips and I will start with those;

Clean. Keep your clothing and yourself clean. Sounds kind of funny but dirt in your clothing keeps it from being as effective at insulating your body from the elements as it should be. Take care of your clothing so it can take care of you!

Overdressing. Now this can be hard to judge but you don’t want to wear so much that you begin to sweat while riding. Once you begin to sweat, the moisture can rob you of valuable body heat.

Loose Layers. Dress loose and in layers, that way the looseness creates extra layers of air around your body and helps with insulation and the layers make it easy for you to adjust your clothing to the conditions. We will talk about the layers that you may need later on in the article.

Dry. This is very important. The moisture as stated above will rob body heat faster than anything. It is very important to stay dry even in seemingly warmer temperatures. The effect of the wind blowing across your body and drying the moisture from your body is the same process your body uses to keep cool when you sweat. As liquid evaporates it cools. Now this can be very bad on cooler days and can decrease your body temperature very quickly. Be very aware of this and please stay dry.

Now that is not all there is to preventing hypothermia. You should also eat properly to replace all of the calories that your body burns while trying to stay warm. They say that the average athlete may burn 4000 or fewer calories in the warmer months but winter activities may burn 6000 or more calories with the added load of keeping your body warm. Now don’t get carried away and eat too much. Just remember that your body will need a little more food than normal so try and eat some more pasta or any good carbohydrates (candies and cookies won’t cut it). Now along with eating well you also need to stay hydrated (with water). Now just for those of you that are wondering, alcohol will reduce your ability to stay warm.

I told you before that we would talk about that clothing, well here it goes;

Base Layer
Keep a good layer of clothing next to your skin that is not cotton. Cotton will keep moisture next to your skin and rob heat from you. Try something like polypropylen or wool. Those pull moisture away from your body. Under Armour Tech Long Sleeve Tee is a good product that I use and I am very happy with the results.

You want to wear something over that layer that will compliment it. Now cotton is still not your friend here so try and just find a loose fitting shirt made from some material other than cotton. According to how cold it is I sometimes wear some type of fleece jacket or pullover. Now I have been known to wear a cotton hoodie if I think it is not going to be wet but if you think you may get wet do not wear cotton. I know it can be hard finding some type of pants to fit this bill but it will be worth it on that ride that turned colder than it was supposed to. This is the layer that is going to hold the warmth in so make sure it is adequate.

Outer Layer
This is going to be what keeps the wind and rain off of your body. All of the other layers make no difference without this one. You will need a quality jacket and pants with all of the protection that you prefer to have when buying motorcycle gear plus the added protection from the elements. Make sure to get something to cover your body while in your riding position. You may end up buying gear to go over your normal jacket/pants just make sure it is quality. Rain suits make great wind breakers and can sometimes be just what the doctor ordered when it is cold and windy out. Check out this Tourmaster Rain Jacket.

Gloves
You need to make sure that these things are waterproof, windproof, and insulated enough to keep your hands warm. If you are like me and no glove will keep your hands warm enough you may want to pick up some of those little hand warmers to stick inside of your gloves when you really need them. Also try some thin glove inserts to help out on those colder than normal days. Just remember; don’t buy your gloves to tight. You will cut off circulation to your hands and no gloves will keep your hands warm then. Also ease off on the death grip you have on your bars.

Boots
These need to have the same qualities as your gloves except they need to be sturdy. Sometimes the first thing to get wet and cold will be your feet so try and make sure the boots you buy are truly waterproof or buy some slip-on covers for your boots to keep the wet out. Buy some good socks too. A good pair of socks will make a world of difference and help you stay comfortable and enjoying the ride.

With these tips and a little planning maybe we can all enjoy riding this winter. No matter what, be safe and enjoy the ride this winter. I am going to try and get in over 5000 miles this winter, what is your goal?