Polar Bear Ride 2017
 

Another one in the books.

I opted to ride this morning instead of the early afternoon because I plan to have my backside firmly planted in my recliner for the Packers/Kittens game this evening.

So, 18F this morning when I went out to the garage.
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And dressed accordingly in sixties Swedish Army Winter Motorcycle duds.
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Ural fired right up. The new jetting is the catsass. It actually accelerates uphill in 4th now.
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The usual coffee stop.
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So, 45 miles ridden and it had just hit 29F by the time I rolled back to Chez Fromage. And the big secret to using the heated grips is to 'Turn Them Up'. My only previous experience with heated grips was on my Moms' Skidoo back in the early nineties. Back then, there were only three settings. 'Off', Cold', and 'It Burns'. Now, it's 'Off', 'Kinda Warm', 'Closer', Almost There', and 'That's A Nice'. Now, if my feet would just warm up.

:hi:

Watching that game too. Good report. There was a little exposed around your neck, probably felt that . I've got a great hood that's part of my bunker gear that keeps me very warm . It has only one setting also...too hot.:D

HNY !

Only felt it for a little while on my neck. I wear a Turtle Fur balaclava under my helmet and hadn't pulled all the way down when Mrs. C took the pic. Bigger issue was the wind going around the gauntlet of my gloves and up the sleeves. There are buttons on the sleeve to tighten the cuff so that doesn't happen but it's not a one man operation to do.

About the suit. 1960s Swedish Army surplus. Just got the pants from an outfit in Maryland called keepshooting.com The pants are new, never issued, and dated 1963. Nineteen bucks plus shipping. I've had the coat for several years and picked it up for less than five bucks at an army surplus store In Anchorage, AK. Just dumb luck that two are part of the same set. Both have a removable fleece type lining and both are heavy with a capital aitch. The pants have zippers in both the lining and outside to go over boots. That's it for the zippers, buttons everywhere else. Quite a ritual to get the pants on and off, so if it's cold enough to need them for the short ride to work, I'll probably drive.

I watched the game on and off. The first half was kind of boring. The last ten minutes made up for it, though.