Well we took off for my parents house yesterday, 130 miles accross the desert to Tehacapi in some low mountians. Left a bit early knowing it might be a bit chilly for bit. So we dressed for moderately cool temps.

Got to the desert -- mid to low 60's (was supposed to be 70s), 30 mile an hour cold winds, bike getting tossed a bit and now we are freezing.

Stopped by the local Harley dealer to warm up. Got some chaps (been wanting them anyway) and some thermal inserts for my gloves. Get to the mountians...54 and the same 30 mile an hour winds. By the time I got to my parents my hands were near frozen. It was even snowing on the hills above my mom's house.

Next time....check the weather a bit more closely and take extra stuff just in case...knew it was suposed to be chilly but had no clue about the wind and the TV weather guy was off by at least 10 degrees for the mountians.[:@]

How do you keep your hands warm???? Hubby is having a big problem with that..My finger tips were cold but nothing like his.

 

Couldn't find normal gloves for temps below 45 degrees. Went with the Gerbing's G3 heated gloves. Not cheap, but it's nice when you can feel your finger tips. Before I got these heated gloves, I got to work (40 min ride) and had to run warm water on my fingers just to get back the feeling.


i.e. I've felt your pain. Yes, be prepared (like the Boy Scouts say).

 

Heated gloves, I road in one time this year without them at 21 deg. 30 miles and froze my hands. Then I hooked up my heated gloves and my hands were as warm as if I was on a summer ride. George

 

Wow! Talk about extreme weather change. Given the time of year and crossing desert one would not consider the possibility of freezing. But throw in moutains and wind....... I've heard of it before. Back in the day I would ride right up till mid December. Before there was such a thing as heated gloves I used to combine Isotoners and lined gauntlet gloves. December in North Jersey can either be mild ( as warm as 65 degrees) or go down to sub-zero. Coldest temps I've ridden in were mid twenties and the combo I mentioned kept my hands useable. Not comfy, and not unbearably cold, just an acceptable level of discomfort. I always kept a few pair of gloves on the bike after October.

 

I live in MA, so we get some real cold weather sometimes...I had a sportster before my roadglide, so my hands were always out in the wind. What I ended up with was a pair of snowmobiling gloves...waterproof, and windproof, and I got myself a gerbing heated jacket. Heres the thought process. Your body reacts to general cold by saving all the warmth by shutting down bloodflow to the extremities, and keeping it for the core and the brain. So the answer is to keep the core warm, so the blood keeps flowing to the limbs. Jacket keeps me nice and toasty, and all I need is the snowmobile gloves to keep my fingers from freezing. I've ridden in temps down to about 35-40, and its worked pretty well. Any lower than that, and I would start to consider heated gloves, but above that, the heated jacket is more versatile. Only downside, is the gloves are thick, so you do lose some feel, and you have to break them in before they get comfortable. I also wear windproof/waterproof pants as well to keep my legs from getting cold.

 

35 to 40 is ok for gloves, but if you ride in colder temps for 30 or more miles you will need heated gloves or heated grips. In the fall and spring it isn't uncommon to leave the house when the temp is low 20's. Heated gloves work!

 

Some good suggestions from all...hubby was actually talking about the snowmobile gloves too.
Living in So. Cal you don't expect to get that cold too often.

Matter a fact today....same ride (couple different roads but same direction)
73 at my parents, 87 in the dessert and 85 at home....winds about 15 mph in some spots.
Go figure.

 

I did check the weather on Saturday (forecasted sunny and 88 no rain) and still got caught in a super cell storm with no place to hide! 50 - 60 MPH gusts blew me into oncoming traffic. Almost had us a dead Rhino! If I ever see that weather man I am going to kick his @$$!!! Once we did make it to a covered gas stop it started to hail. If we didn't find that place it could of been bloody!

Best thing you can is be prepared. I had my rain gear in my bags but it caught us off guard. This storm came up on us out of no where! It rolled in on us in the time span of 25 minutes and 50 miles from home! Spring time brings some of the strangest weather to the Midwest. I have been here my whole life and I’m still not use to it...

 

Wow, I must have ridden right past you!

I rode from Temecula back to the bay area by way of Mojave, and damn near froze.

It was really frigging cold in the desert, especially before sunrise!

I only wear vented leather summer gloves though. I hate bulky ones. one trick that works well is to point your fingers straight for a bit every once in a while. I don't know why, but it seems to warm them up. I also will drop a hand down by the motor/pipes for a bit if its really cold (30's or lower)

 

That deluxe you ride has plenty of room for a spare pair of gloves.. I just don't think you can beat having a pair of the heated gloves along for the ride.

Ride Safe....