A New Personal Record

This morning I achieved a new personal record for low temperature riding. According to the bank thermometer it was 18 degrees. I was a little late leaving the house, or I could have hit 14. I will have to wait for next time to achieve that low. I have to admit, one can get a lot of attention and a lot of questions, even from strangers, when riding a motorcycle at 18 degrees. May be a good way to meet people. A man in the bank, as I was standing in line to make a deposit, wondered if it wasn't a "bit cool" riding this morning. He said he never rode his below 70 degrees!!! Why bother??? A car stopped beside me and rolled down their window and asked how the ride was. There was no lack of curiosity, and I thought I must seem somewhat crazy, that is, until I saw the UPS delivery man come in the bank WITH SHORTS ON!! Well, even I have enough sense to cover up the skin at this temperature. By noon, we were breaking the freezing point in Cookeville, and the sun was shining as you can see in the photo of the West Side, and it was actually quite nice for a ride.

Having ridden at 18 degrees with no extra heat, I am thinking I should be able to take a longer ride even in the 20's by using all my heated clothes. OR, I may even be able to push my record into the single digits, if I get the opportunity this year. I expect that would really raise some questions about my sanity.