Milestones
 

Well, today a few things happened. I passed my first hundred miles, gassed up for the first time, and made my first ride in the dark. :2tup: A few thoughts... 1) 60 mpg rocks, but not as much as it would have two months ago :biggrin: ; 2) it really DOES get colder once the sun is down! :retard: ; 3) I've got to get warmer riding duds; 4) I'm really starting to settle in to higher speeds (50+).

I think this is going to become addicting. :tup:

Re: Milestones
 

Yep, it becomes very addicting. You've now passed the 'newbie' status on that bike. It all goes smoother from here!!!!

I'll tell ya what i use for cold weather ...

Lower half: long underwear, hunting socks, jeans, a thick pair of leather chaps and ofcourse my motorcycle boots.

Upper half: long sleeve thermal, long sleeve shirt over that, sweatshirt then my VERY heavy/thick motorcycle leather jacket. My jacket is what you would call an 'updated' version of the old school leathers. The arms are bent, its vented, lined, extended arms, thicker leather and taller. Its one of the most comfortable/durable/thick leather ive seen that still resembles the old school leather style.

Head: bandanna, skull cap and a neoprene 3/4 face skull print face mask. When its REALLY cold i put the full face on with a neck warmer and a wind breaker piece that clips to the chin of the helmet to keep the air out.

That setup i can ride down into the lower 40s. 30s are doable but not for long rides. Someday im going to buy myself a dickies full body lined coveralls.

Re: Milestones
 

The next 100 miles will be even better and you'll probably still have a $$$t-eating grin on after the first 1000. I'm enjoying going back and tackling some of the roads that I was scared of in the first 500 and seeing how much more relaxed (and fun!) the rides are now that I'm not constantly afraid of veering into the guard rail.

Out here when it gets cold, we make sure to zip the jacket all the way up and close the vent on the helmet. Oh, and swap the shorts in for the long pants.

(Actually, I have an armored Icon Jacket and armored Tour Master [Caliber] pants, both of which have a zip-in/out lining that I'm very pleased with. The Icon was a bit pricey but the pants weren't too bad. You can see them both in the photo Moedad posted of us at Cook's Canyon in the Ortega ride under ride reports. I wear a nylon neck warmer I re-purposed from my ski arsenal that works well to get that spot between the bottom of the helmet and the top of the jacket.)

Re: Milestones
 

The main issue with dressing for a cold morning ride is that I have to take all that stuff off when I get to work. We really don't have much in the way of a change room, so that could get interesting for someone walking in on me. Plus, here in S. LA it might be 45 during the ride to work, but it will be 75 on the ride home. Makes for a hot ride if you have to put all that stuff back on. I'll be thinking it over for a few days (as I'm offshore right now and you can't very well ride a bike in 3000 feet of water) and seeing if I can't figure something out that will work well for my particular situation.

Re: Milestones
 

Leather jacket with a zip out liner and zipper vents is tops for those cold morning/hot afternoon commutes.

Re: Milestones
 

A one piece snowmobile suit, big enough to go OVER your "normal" clothes and jacket for the ride home......and a saddle bag large enough to put it in for the afternoon trip.

Re: Milestones
 

I'm curios, when is a newbie not a newbie. I have only had my bike for 2 months - anniversary today - but I have put a little over 500 miles on the bike.

On the cold weather gear - I'm in Houston where two days ago I left in the morning at 46 and returned home at 79. I am wearing a Fieldsheer mesh with a quilted liner. For this weather it is warm in the morning and in the afternoon I take out the liner and put it in my backpack.

Re: Milestones
 

If you are referring to your forum status, it's strictly about your number of posts. I think it clicks over at 25?

If you are referring to your actual rider status, I don't think there is any general agreement on that. When I took the MSF course, they asked if we'd ridden more than 500 miles (recently, I think.) Personally, I think that after the 3K mark you are technically no longer a newb, but having gotten such a late start, I think I will always consider myself a newb regardless of what it says on the odometer. If I get a bigger bike, I think I'll defintely be a newb all over again.

If you send Dupo some money, you can jump right to "Sponsor" status.

Re: Milestones
 

Thanks for the perspective. Is it my imagination or did the graphics change on member status - skulls & dollar signs?

Re: Milestones
 

Yeah. Think I liked the old better. Not really a fan of connecting skulls or other death symbols with motorcycles. Left turners and guard rails are scary enough.