We've already had a couple of frosts up here and there was another one on Thursday night when I had to get over to Erin, a 90km round trip from home. It was a cool day, but sunny and the fall colours were coming on strong. I make the monthly trip over to lodge in Erin from September to June, and try to ride whenever I can. This might be my last time on two wheels for a while.
Waiting out the winter is never easy, and the coming snows tend to urge me onto two wheels even more as the darkness arrives. The ride over was cool but spectacular: a blood red sunset across some astonishing trees. I stopped in the hlls of south-west Erin at a horse farm and took a picture.
It was about 8°C (46°F) on the ride over. The Tiger takes this in stride. The only part of me that gets cold are my hands, and the hand guards and grip warmers had me covered.
I got back out at about 9:45pm. The temperature was hovering just above freezing. I had the fleece zipped up and the leathers on over top. That combination does a remarkable job of retaining heat and stopping the wind from getting in.I pulled out onto the empty, streetlighted road and headed into the darkness. The moon was waxing gibbous and cast long shadows across the road. Any exposed skin would have been instantly frozen, fortunately I didn't have any.
A single car drove by while I was stopped and asked if I was OK, which was nice. Back on the bike I thundered through the frozen moonlight, weaving my way down empty country roads back home.
When I got in my hands were still working even though I'd only wornn normal leather gloves. My core temperature was low, but it didn't take long to warm back up. Next time I'm out in that kind of weather I'll try out the winter gloves. I'll keep going until the snow flies and the roads are salted. At that point I'll clean up the Tiger one last time and let it hibernate under a blanket until spring.
Some variations:
