i woke up today to find an overcast sky, threatening looking clouds and a forecast of showers, although the temperature was very reasonable. putting aside for a minute that it's the middle of july, and this type of weather is ridiculous, i was at a dilemma about what to wear on the bike. do i wear the leathers, which would probably be more comfortable temperature-wise, but not so good in the rain? or do i go with the textiles which, last time i wore the pants with any type of mugginess or not-cold temps, i ended up sweating buckets unless i was going 70 mph?
i ended up playing it safe and going with the textiles. the air still had a nice chill to it in the morning, and i was fine on the way to work, with the liner in my coat and vents open. as the day went on, though, the sky seemed mysteriously empty of clouds, and the temperature seemed to hover between definitely-not-cold and slightly-warm-and-muggy. at the end of shift number one, i knew it was going to be a toasty ride across the bridge unless something was done. what was done was me riding without my pants. sure, i wore the overpants, but my khakis were in my shoulder bag, along with my jacket liner and work shirt. wearing just the overpants, vents open, was actually quite comfortable, though a little scratchy with the inside stitching. the ride ended up being pretty comfortable, and my clothing choice seemed right on target as it started to rain just as i entered the theatre (job #2).
the way home was a different story, however. assuming (hoping) that the temperature had dropped slightly, since it was 10pm, i put the textiles on over the khakis for the trek home, but left the jacket liner out. i didn't even make it to the parking garage before my legs started sweating like crazy. i zipped down the side, which helped a bit, but i was still quite uncomfortable as i paid for parking and got the rest of my gear on (granted, the parking garage is ridiculously muggy and hot). i left the sides unzipped the entire ride home, which helped a bit, but it was still a hot ride home (and it was definitely not-hot outside).
it seems my textile pants are far from breathable, even with the vents open. this makes me doubt their applicability on my trip, as much of it will be in the south during the end of summer. sure, i can always strap them on the back, but they don't really do me much good back there, do they? i'm wondering if my good ole leather chaps might not be a better fit for the ride.
keep in mind, the pants will still be a good investment. come winter, when i can rely on cold, rainy weather, it will be nice to only have one outer layer to put on, as opposed to fleece+leathers+rainsuit. but as for the traveling, i'm not as sure about their flexibility. i know the leathers wouldn't be cool either, but at least it's a breathable heat. the textiles feel like i'm wearing snowpants, and breathe just about as well.
i checked the average temperatures of where i'll be riding for the state of september, and they average from 55 to 72 degrees, which is not as hot as i thought, but also not exactly cold. i know altitude will come into play, but all in all this is not going to be a cold-weather ride. unless i just want to not wear jeans all day (a possibility), or strap the fancy pants on the back of vixen for most of the south, i might end up wearing the cowhide. or maybe i'll just suck it up and accept that i'll be boiling no matter what i'm wearing, since it's the south in the summer (i'd be hot wearing shorts and a tank top). we'll just have to see.
till then,
rftc,
scott
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