I rode my motorcycle to work for eight consecutive months last year. I was hoping to ride a little later into the season last year and start a little earlier this year. My 2009 Yamaha FJR1300A is more suited for all-year riding, thanks to its full faring and tall, adjustable windshield.

Unfortunately we had some unusually heavy snowfall this year, and that combined with the threat of ice kept me on four wheels (or even working from home as the city shut down). I hope to start riding full-time again now that the temperatures are heating up and the days are longer.

Even though I only took a few months off and rode in every now and then, I can still tell my riding is rusty.
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It’s been an unseasonably snowy winter out here in Virginia. While there have been a few days colder than my riding comfort threshold (25°F ambient), there has been snow and/or ice on the ground for the majority of the month. When the snow melts there is sand on the streets, so that makes motorcycling a bit more challenging. When the conditions are right, I jump on the bike and make a run for it.

I don’t see many other riders this time of year, but as I entered the freeway on the trip home I saw a single bright headlight in my side mirror. I got up to freeway speed, and he followed respectfully close behind.

This guy had jeans on, armored gloves, a big puffy down jacket, full face helmet, and white sport-style protective boots. He was a total mish-mash of gear, and this may have been the first time he was ever out in the cold. His coat inflated like a giant black down-stuffed Death Star. He crouched down as low as he could so that his tiny ass sportbike windscreen would offer as much protection as possible. His beat-up, late 90s Ninja 500 smelled and sounded grossly out of tune.

As I made my way to the right-most lane, my wingman reminded me of one of the reasons we ride in the first place. Here he was, only partially protected, in somewhat cold riding conditions (especially given his loadout), and uncomfortable. He seemed nervous making his way through freeway traffic and followed behind me as I made gentle transitions between cars.

Despite all that, Ninja Wingman was out on the slab today. He knew that he didn’t have the right gear, or really the right bike, but he rode anyway. He could have left his bike and drove a nice comfy car wherever he was headed. Instead he loved riding so much that took his bike out instead.

So from within the comfortable, highly protective top-dollar gear and aboard my special purpose long distance sport commuter, I salute you. I salute you, Ninja Wingman, for reminding me that the joy of riding conquers mild discomfort and shaky confidence. Keep the shiny side up, buddy, and I hope to see you more often on the ride home.

The more reviews I’ve written for Gibberish, the longer I’ve taken to waiting before issuing an opinion. Sometimes I label early write-ups as “first impressions” and leave the review for later days. In the case of the Synergy heated motorcycle gloves by Tourmaster, I waited almost sixteen months to write this up.

I try to ride my motorcycle to work as often as possible. I commuted on a motorcycle for almost eight straight months in 2009. There are two things that can disrupt your average motorcyclist: cold and rain. I tried a variety of insulated waterproof gloves but most weren’t up for the task of commuting at highway speeds. Gloves that kept my hands warm were often so bulky I had a hard time articulating the clutch and front brake levers. All waterproof gloves I tried lost most of their insulating properties once the non-waterproof outer layer became saturated with water.

I tried just about everything before turning to electric heated gloves. I had handguards on my Yamaha FZ6 and BMW R1150R. I had heated grips on the FZ6, R1150R, and BMW K1200LTE. I even have thin silk glove liners to help retain my body heat. If you’re on the bike at 25°F ambient and ride 70MPH that’s 2°F adjusted for wind chill. My commute is at least 40 minutes each way. I needed something else to keep my hands warm, so I turned to the Synergy electric heated gloves made by Tourmaster.
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Let’s face it. Motorcycling is a dangerous activity. If you have training, gear, and experience motorcycling might be less dangerous than if you have none of these, but the fact of the matter is you never know when something unexpected is going to happen. A truck could run a red light and smash you to bits. That lady eating with both hands and steering with her knees might drift into your lane too fast. Hell, you might even get hit in the face by a bird and go down on an isolated stretch of highway. And let’s not even get started on forest rats — I mean — deer.

You can do one of two things: continue riding as if nothing can touch you and forgive any preparations, or do the most you can to mitigate your risks and prepare your a potentially serious or fatal accident.

I’m a “preps” kind of guy. I try to find a balance between doing the things I want to do and being as ready as possible for unfortunate circumstances. On one hand, you can’t be crippled by fear and not do the things you want, but on the other hand you have to a plan.

Here are some of things I do to prepare for the worst.
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“When I ride, I keep my head on a swivel,” my Motorcycle Safety Foundation course instructor told me over four years ago. He went on to describe how his eyes were always darting around, and he was constantly looking behind him and to the sides. It sounded super vigilant, and super safe. I wanted to be super vigilant, and super safe, so that’s what I did.

A few years (and a few thousand miles) rode by, and I realized that I didn’t really feel any safer with my head spinning around, eyes fleeting everywhere. Quite frequently I would look to my right, then my left, and notice that traffic had locked up their brakes in front of me. I found that the more anxious I was with my riding, the more fatigued I became. I started to relax my body more while riding, and that included how I looked at the world around me. My eyes and head stopped moving so much, and while my eyes were mostly straight ahead, I never fixated on any one thing for too long.

I seemed to ride better, anticipate things more accurately, and react to situations more quickly. I chalked it up to experience and riding with more confidence.

Little did I know that my day job would explain how I could see everything by looking at nothing.
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Riding in the rain on a motorcycle happens to just about every rider. The difference is that some of us ride in the rain on purpose, while other motorcyclists get caught in a downpour by accident. If you’re the former, here are some tips for keeping your pants dry during foul-weather commuting.

• Gear up. The most important thing, obviously, is wearing waterproof motorcycle gear. You’re going to need:
  • Textile pants with a waterproof liner
  • Waterproof motorcycling boots — regular waterproof boots aren’t a good option because they are usually not tall enough to prevent upspray (more on that in a minute). Furthermore, they may not hold up in a crash as well as boots built specifically for motorcycling. Also make sure your boots have a gaiter on the inside to help keep water out of the openings along the side of the boot. I personally prefer buckles to zippers, but if your boot has a zipper make sure there is a gaiter behind the zipper, too. I wear Sidi On Roads (available at NewEnough).
  • If you are really concerned about staying dry — or you motorcycle during the colder months — you should buy a separate set of waterproof overpants. I own a jacket and pants set of Frogg Toggs Elite Highway (Amazon.com). It makes a huge difference when riding in torrential rain. It is also important for keeping me safe and warm when it’s cold out. You may stay dry when your waterproof textile jacket gets waterlogged, but the wind of riding at highway speeds plus a low ambient air temperature will make you cold in a hurry. It’s uncomfortable at best, and dangerous at worst.
• Tuck your clothes in when going out in public. Fold your pant hem flat against your leg. Put your pant leg inside your boot. If you don’t do this, water upspray from the road my find its way past the various hem contraptions of your motorcycling pants and soak your “real” pants. This is particularly irksome if you are wearing jeans. Demin will rapidly transfer any water absorbed at the hem up your pants. I figured out “the tuck” the hard way after wondering why my knees were wet — it was from my jeans absorbing water on a three-hour ride in the rain.

Let’s be honest: motorcycles don’t have much going for them in the event of a crash. Braking distance is longer for a motorcycle than that of a car, stability is compromised at lower speeds, and then there’s that whole “fly off the bike” thing if you collide with an object.

The two big advantages motorcycles have over automobiles are acceleration and size. You’ll need them both when an automobile attempts to change lanes into you. Here’s what I do to avoid lane incursions.
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Week two of growing my beard (and participating in the Ars Technica beard growing event).

It’s still filling in, but I’ve passed two important milestones:

1) My face is warmer inside of my motorcycle helmet. The beard is definitely blocking some of the wind that bounces off of my chest and up into my helmet.

2) I am now combing my beard out after showering.

I’ll probably let it grow another week or two and then tighten it up a bit with my Norelco G390.

If you ride street a lot, you may have encountered this type of driver before: someone who rides their brake pedal as if their life depended on it. Accelerate, brake. Go downhill, brake. Go uphill, brake. On-ramp, brake. Brake, brake.

It’s frustrating and dangerous at the same time. Motorcyclists need every bit of advanced warning to avoid trouble. If someone brakes all the time it can lull you into a sense of complacency or make you so nervous about the car in front of you that you get tunnel vision.

The most important thing to discern is why this person is braking. Is the car in front of them also panic braking? Do they look lost? Are they trying to signal you (I’ve had cars to this to me to “help” when a law enforcement officer is in front of them)? If they are just being stupid or timid, you have a Braker on your hands.
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I wrote about how I merge onto the highway on my motorcycle last month. Now that you’re on the horse, we’re going to discuss the dismount. Here’s how you can stay safer when exiting the highway.

You really have to look out for two things when leaving the highway: cars also trying to exit and your turn entry speed.
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