Any excuse for a ride, no matter what the weather.
I went for a 10-11 mile ride to buy a sucker Powerball ticket, and tried another combination of clothes to protect from the wind and stay warm. I put on the pants from one of those nylon warm-up suits under my jeans (to protect those pants from melting if they touched the exhaust). They have a thin layer of flannel inside and very effectively block all wind from your legs. They are light enough to easily fit under jeans and are unnoticeable by you or anyone else when you are walking around, and they actually did a good job of keeping me comfortable on the ride in temps of around 45-50 at 60mph. I know I would have felt the cold on my legs without them on. Just a suggestion to try if you already have some of those, and they seemed to work. Or, they are pretty cheap to buy, much much less than dedicated riding pants. Also that new Firstgear jacket really does work to block all the wind and keep you warm underneath.

Anything that blocks the wind is a bonus. Once the wind chill effect is removed life gets warmer.

Except most dedicated riding pants have armor and drag resistance.

Good suggestion though. I'll probably try that next time.

Except most dedicated riding pants have armor and drag resistance.




I know that, I've been looking at a decent set of pants for a long time, I just don't want to spend the money on something I think is way overpriced 'till I find a pair that I can use all year and doesn't look so horrible. They also have Kevlar jeans that give abrasion resistance, but no armor. Too many choices, hard to decide, fiddling in the meantime.

I don't know if this has ever been discussed here but here is some safety tips from working in the electric lines industy. You don't wear nylon where there may be some way of melting it. A spark or heat soruce can ignite it or melt it to your skin and give you severe burns. Under 10lb cotton jeans may not be a problem. Under leather or other non flamable clothing may not be a problem. But never give exposure to nylon, rayon, or other synthetic clothing to a heat source.

I mentioned it in a thread where someone was about to drain their gas tank.

I went to junior high with an unfortunate gentleman we referred to privately as "Crispy" (I'm not proud, but, it wasn't my idea and, well, it fit.) Said gentleman was wearing a nylon pullover shirt whilst working on his car, got gas on it and, when he went inside to take a shower, the act of pulling it over his head generated a static electricity spark, the shirt ignited and the nylon melted. He was fortunate to still have most of his features but his lower face, neck, back and chest looked like something out of a horror movie.

If I hadn't met Crispy I would not have believed this possible. Nylon, rayon and other plastic materials are less popular now than they were in the seventies, but I still see workout wear made from it. Be careful!

To mole2 - You're right, I take it back. It's probably not a good idea to have any nylon on, even with a little flannel lining in the pants, as the heat from friction in a slide even under jeans could conceivably melt the nylon and have it stick to your skin which wouldn't be too pleasant. Have to find regular riding pants as a better idea.

Ironically, my pricey caliber "touring pants" exterior is... nylon! And, when I was struggling with the bike stalls in '08, I melted a nice hole in 'em when I touched a rearward section of the tailpipe. Didn't go beyond the exterior and didn't spread, but, well, WTF?