It was a bit too wet to work today but I had some running around to do and took the opportunity to test out some of my wet weather gear. I've been sitting on the fence and unsure what to take with me. Space and weight are important so I don't want to take things that aren't going to work 100%.
Temp: +3C
Wind: 22km/h ESE
Distance traveled: 146km (multiple directions)
Moderate rain/hail
Results:
BMW Pro Summer Gloves, advertised as water and wind proof...I disagree! Comfortable gloves but even with hand guards/wind deflectors and the grip heaters on high my hands were frozen!
BMW Summer Pants II, not advertised as water proof and I agree! I was curious how wet I would get and how soon it would happen. I got very wet, very quickly! They are great pants and they work well for good weather and have the added bonus of having zip off legs which is nice for wandering around once I'm off the bike.
Alpine Star Tech 2 boots: Right foot totally dry but when I pulled my left boot off I was half expecting Coi to come swimming out. Maybe my soaking wet pants were dripping into the left boot. I'll have to try them again with better pants.
Columbia Thunderstorm II jacket: Advertised as water/wind proof and breathable. After 2hrs of riding as various speeds I was totally dry. This jacket was on sale at Bass Pro for $50... well worth the money. It definitely earned a spot in my pack!
BMW Endro Carbon Fiber helmet: The visor fogged quickly and didn't want to clear ever. I had to make a pit stop and pick up some Rain-X wipes.
Rain-X wipes: One word, AWESOME! There will definitely be a pack of these on my gear on the trip.
Sham Wow: I bought these at the same time as the Rain X wipes. I wanted to dry my visor before applying the Rain-X. I wasn't too impressed... for now they will be referred to as Sham-Meh. More testing required!
Metal Mule touring wind screen: Not just for wet weather but this was the first ride with it on the bike. I have tried the stock screen, Touratech and the after market BMW ($$$) touring screens and they all sucked...this one was no different. Brutal wind noise and buffeting. My head was getting blown all over the place. Not a comfortable ride at all! I'm going to try the CalSci windshield and if that doesn't work perhaps I'll buy some lexan and build something that resembles the Pope-Mobil.. maybe not but this whole wind shield battle is getting old fast.
The weather is supposed to be terrible all weekend so I'll try out my BMW one piece rainsuit and my Thor Quadrant boots.
I stopped by the weigh scale on my way by. With me on the bike in full gear, full tank of full, 4 gallons of extra fuel, full panniers with camping and spare parts it was a whopping 858lbs! I probably have another 75lbs of gear that needs to go on the bike. There will have to be some trimming of gear being taken...and off me too ; )
that sucks about the windscreen. It looked like it might work. Also too bad about the gloves. Might have to bring the winter gloves from quading...
ReplyDeleteHi Cory and Tim,
ReplyDeleteWhat an amazing trip and even the preparation for it must be a real learning experience. Thanks for the opportunity to follow you on the count down. Your days must be very full. We are planning to be at the send off BBQ. I see your route is to the west from Calgary - Vancouver I expect. Where do you touch down after departing Canada?
How many languages have you had to learn. The language barriers along with numerous other things will be a huge challlenge. What do you see as the biggest challenge during this trip? See you on July 12th.
Hi guys, For rain gear there are only 2 words - Frog Togs. The pack up small, are extremely light, they breathe and are relatively inexpensive. Louise and I used these on the trip to Montreal last year and we had a few days of solid rain, but the Frog Togs kept is (me anyway) dry. Louise's fit was a little more loose around the neck so water dripped off her helmet and down her back. That was easily fixed by wearing the hood under the helmet.
ReplyDeleteWe got ours from Tim Graham at Calgary Sport Touring, but I have noticed that Big Bass superstore has them also.