Up north, where winters are brutal, there is a saying

There is no bad weather, just the wrong clothes
Or sumthin like that,,
YOu should be able to ride in reasonable comfort into the 40's. It will take some serious clothes, tho.,One of the best things I did was open a BIG pistol carrier up & put it fleece side to me inside my clothes, It blocked wind & added insulation where I was getting cold,
A balaclava is essential,

I made mine from a tee shirt. I was amazed at how effective that was. & yea,, helmet slipped right on, cuz it was snug,
& yea, I have a sewing machine & I can run it,, kinda..

I havent seen it in a coupla years,,but it looked okay,,
I also used the leather trimmed from the legs of the chaps to make a leather mask that covered my face. It worked great, Women & children werent so friendly at stop lites, tho

I got one of those, maybe nomex, hoods the firemen wear under their helmets when they are fighting fires. That thing is really warm when the wind is blowing, thin enough to fit under my helmet, long enough to go down in my coat and stay there.  Easy enough to throw in the washing machine.  JOG, I too have a sewing machine and I too can sorta use it.  But my friend was nice enough to give me one of his extras.

True enough that clothes can make the difference. But I work in an office, with no place or desire to change/unpack myself. So if I cant ride in my work clothes and with a jacket... then it aint gonna happen.

The other thing is .. I pretty much figure I have walking pneumonia.. I got sick two weeks ago with some bacteria that started in the head and moved south. I am back up and going, but I still cough crap out of my lungs... esp when I go to bed. Low grade fever... nothing to stop me.. but I don't wanna push it by riding in damp cold.

Pine wrote on 10/18/13 at 14:17:01:


pretty good reason not to ride.

Get yourself some over pants or overalls.  These don't have to be overly heavy, but enough to stop the wind. A loose pair of jeans is almost enough.

I have to admit to getting less tolerant to the cold too Pine. At least when it comes to riding the 40+ miles to work at 6:30 in the morning. I now set my limit at 45*F for 2-wheeled commuting. Just too darn cold for me on the interstate at 75mph!

Now if I'm just going into town or knocking around on a day off,I can gear up and handle 30-35*F with sunshine for 10-20 miles at a time.

I might be gettin' old,but I ain't dead yet!