Lucky for me a riding pal, with several motorcycles, lent me his Honda VFR 750 for the day. I was very impressed with the bike although my 6'3" frame and bad knees found it a bit cramped. If you are a bit shorter and more flexible than I, take a look at a VFR as a sport touring mount. A very smooth and impressive engine with lots of power. That's it in front of me in the pic at the side of a still frozen lake. Welcome to early season riding in Alberta.
It was a Sunday quick trip out to Canmore for lunch and return. Nothing too long as the weather is still crisp in this area, the high only hitting 11celsius in Canmore with Calgary ringing in a few degrees more.
To my riding friends in the south USA that may seem like horrible weather to ride in but for a Canuck that's been holed up for 6 months of winter the blue sky beckoned for a ride. Carl had the spare bike and another riding friend Kelly came along.
It was also a great opportunity to do my first test of some of my riding gear that was provided by Gamma Sales.
Lets start with my new Zoan "Runner" helmet. Shown here in red but as you can see mine is in silver. I hear the silver ones make you smarter...at least that is the rumour I am starting.
This is the 3rd brand of modular helmet I have owned in that last 4 years. For the want of flip up convenience, which allows me to put on a helmet without removing glasses or, as important, to open it should I have to sneeze, or the option of flipping it open for fresh air on hot days while in traffic, some sacrifices must be made.
While modulars give you full face protection they are a bit noisier than a regular full face helmet and some can even a bit drafty. The Zoan beat both of my previous helmets for wind noise as it proved to be much, much quieter. The under chin flap kept cool air from swirling in like my last 2 mod helmets and the removable nose cover kept my visor clear from fogging in the chill alpine air by directing my breath away. A problem I had with the my other helmets was fogging on cool days which is a scary thing to happen at highway speed, losing sight of the road just because you exhaled. On warmer days the nose cover can be easily removed.
There are vents to help with air flow on hot days but they were kept closed so I cannot comment yet on their effectiveness except for when I accidentally left one open I could feel a cold breeze coming in. Once closed the Zoan did not have the annoying swirl of air leaking in.
The internal sun visor control and the latch opening mechanism were easy to operate even with heavy gloves.
Which brings me to the next item, my Scarab Winter Glove by Cortech.
Insulated and containing a waterproof membrane they proved to be quite warm with no need for me to switch on the heated hand grips for the 1 hour (each way) ride out to Canmore. Keep in mind we were at a spirited highway pace in close to single digit temperatures so the wind chill was intense. A non insulated glove would've had my hands clawed up in frozen protest but not with these guys on.
The only thing that bothered my comfort was the stiffness of these armoured gloves. They are very well constructed but will require a few wearings to break them in. Keep that in mind when purchasing a cold weather glove. Test them out and break them in prior to that long trip you've been planning. You don't want to have your first cool day cut short because your gear is too stiff and new. I can tell they will be a great glove down the road but for now they are a bit rigid so I plan to use them often to work them in. It reminds me of how I had to break in some good hockey gloves growing up. Those that required no break in usually lasted only a season. I will also say they performed nicely at sealing out the wind at the cuff nicely. They were never drafty and the velcro flaps were easy to use even with a gloved hand.
Next up is the boots.
The main thing I was concerned about was foot comfort. I suffer from a slight ingrown nail on my one foot and my last boots used to give me a pressure point stab that would ache by day's end. It seems the problem is not to be with these boots. I'll write more when I can test them in rain, an all day ride and on a good hike off the bike. If you tour you don't want track boots as your feet will protest when walking around scenic outlooks, touristy stops etc. I suspect these boots will do fine for off bike duty as well.
Like the gloves they seemed a bit stiff and new but should break in nicely.
The main item I really wanted to test was my Tourmaster Epic series jacket.
With the quilted liner zipped in place I opted for minimal clothing underneath to make to give it a challenge. I wore a wick-dry,long sleeve microfiber shirt and a cotton T-shirt over top and nothing more. I was trying to simulate those days when we start out nice but the weather turns. Often riders willl "tough it out" rather than stop for another layer as they push on to their destination. Since it was not my bike I did not have the luxury of plugging in my heated liner jacket. The Epic jacket had to keep me warm on its own.
I did bring a thin, pullover fleece as a back up just in case but it remained in my tail pack all day. The warmth of this jacket was superb. A few times the wind blast would press it tight against my chest and the cold would creep in briefly from the contact. One more layer such as a vest would have solved that.
I am confident I could go a full tank's distance dressed that way however, on a longer multi tank trip in such temperatures, I would probably spoil myself with the electrics just to reduce fatigue because you burn energy warming up and cooling down all day....and I have become a bit of a cold wuss. Why suffer when there is gear to eliminate it from your ride? With an electric vest or jacket underneath there is little need to bulk up in many layers which translates into many more miles each day in comfort while reducing your luggage needs. The outer shell is waterproof requiring only to close all vents. No need to carry a rain suit! (note- my Tourmaster pants are on back order so I was unable to give them a tryout)
The built in kidney belt, yes you read that right, built in kidney belt serves 2 purposes. Anytime an item can solve more than one problem I am a fan as I love multi functionality. Besides keeping your kidneys from being jarred the belt is a great way of stopping any cold air that had the nasty idea of creeping up your coat from the bottom. Once adjusted, which is easy with the velcro tabs, it cinches the jacket snug. My old jacket was notorious for letting the chill air climb up my back. Not so with this one from Tourmaster.
Since I will be using it for long tours I also wanted to test out the built in waist pack built into the back of the jacket.
Like a mini back pack you can stuff items you may need while off the bike. I filled it with a first aid kit, a small tripod, a point and shoot digital camera (in its own case) and a micro fibre balaclava. While it may or may not have made my lower back look a bit lumpy when viewing me from behind, the items all road comfortably. I think this feature will be great for short hikes at scenic stops. The zipper closure can be worked easily with gloves too so you can seal your items safely away.
The jacket's outer pockets are waterproof and can hold a fair amount of items. My wallet tucked inside a waterproof chest pocket and my cell phone on an inside pocket did not even begin to strain the jackets capability to hold stuff. There are so many pockets it can be easy to lose something until you get used to where it all isl. I love the storage as it means my tank bag will not have to carry everything.
I look forward to warmer weather so I can try the jacket sans liner and test out the scoop vents that zip open for air flow. Until ma nature finds the heat in this area I'll be content with the warmth.
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I was a pleasure to let you break in the new gear. And good thing you had the bike when I was looking for spare parts lol.
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