The other day, I got off of work at 10AM. I called my brother at about 8:45 and asked him if he wanted to go for a ride. He informed me that his insurance has lapsed on his motorcycle, and he cannot ride it until he gets coverage. I offered to let him ride one of my “spare” motorcycles, and he said he would have to call me back. He asked his wife if he could ride, and she said no way. I understand, as Sunday is his only day off and she wants to spend time with him and not on the back of a bike when the temps are in the 30s.

I decided to take a ride anyway. This was a spur of the moment idea, so I left from work, still wearing my paramedic uniform under my riding gear. I jumped on the bike and started heading south on I-77. I was not sure which of 4 routes I was going to take, but I-77 would get me to some fantastic rides on two lane roads.

I called Amy and asked her where she was (she spent the night in LaGrange, KY, my old hometown) and she was going to go look at a horse in southern Indiana this morning. I turns out that they overslept, so they were getting a late start on the day. I decided then that I would ride toward Kentucky and see if I could meet them.

I rode to I-70 West then to I-71 South. In Cincinnati, I decided that I would head toward Lexington, KY as I would have enough time to get there and eat at Taco Tico. I could have gone to one in Louisville, but that is 20 more miles from my house. Eating in Lexington should give me enough time to eat, then make it back North to Florence (home of the Florence Y’ALL water tower) and intercept Amy, her Mom, and the girls.

320 miles after leaving my job for the day, I found myself eating at my favorite fast food joint in Lexington, KY. When I walked into the restaurant, the guy working in the back said to me “Hey, you’re the guy from Ohio who travels to Tennessee on that bike.” I told him that he was right. He told me that he does not see many BMW motorcycles stop at the restaurant, and that is how he recognized me. He remembered what I always order, and even had a 1/2 gallon bag of hot sauce ready to sell me (I always buy their hot sauce, I love it).

I finished eating and called Amy. She was still at the farm in Southern Indiana. I hit the road toward home. The next time I talked to Amy, I was in Cincinnati, and they were just getting back on the road. I knew then that intercepting them was going to be out of the question, as they were going to be several hours behind me.

I had good intentions of meeting with my family on this ride, it just didn’t work out. At least I had a beautiful day to take a 640 mile fast food run. I did not have my camera, as I left from work (Amy actually had it with her). The sky was as clear as can be. The temp when I started was 36 degrees. The high temp for the day was 60. The last two hours of my ride were the coldest, at 35-33 degrees. I was pretty comfortable, thanks to my heated liners in my suit. I did discover that I would love a set of heated insoles for my boots though.

For anybody who may be interested in heated insoles for Tour Master heated clothing, here is what they look like.  My Uncle Greg has these and loves them.  I am going to order a set of them as soon as I am done posting this. Click on the picture to see the product description.

Last week, I left on a trip to Maryville, TN on the BMW R1200RT.  I had to go there for traffic court, as a Tennessee State Trooper was pretty impressed by the performance of my bike the last time I was there.  As another blogger, Gail puts it, I was given a performance award (ticket).  More on the ticket and court in another post.  

When I left Northeast Ohio after my overnight shift at my part-time job, it was 6:00AM and 22 degrees.  I had been meaning to buy heated clothing for months, but I kept putting it off “for one more week” after not finding any decent heated gear at local dealers.  I donned my jeans, chaps, a t-shirt, fleece sweatshirt, and my Olympia Patton Tech Mesh Field Jacket (they named it, not me).  I rode for about one hour and stopped for breakfast.  With the heated grips and the heated seat on the R1200RT, this ride was tolerable.  

I exited I-70 in Cambridge, OH.  The light at the end of the ramp was red so I had to stop.  To my alarm, my legs did not want to move.  I was having trouble moving all of my muscles.  It was hard to shift my motorcycle because of this.  I had lost all fine control.  I pulled into Bob Evans and had trouble climbing off of the motorcycle.  When I did dismount the bike, I had to look drunk walking into the restaurant, as I was stumbling a little bit.  The hostess seated me and when the waitress came, I realized what was happening.  The waitress took my order.  I ordered the “Rise and Shine” which is eggs, home fries, toast, and your choice of meat.  I always get this when dining at Bob Evans.  When the waitress asked me “Bacon, sausage, or ham?” I replied with “Bacon” (I never get bacon at restaurants, I always get sausage or ham).  I then follow with “I prefer links.”  The waitress countered with “Sir, you ordered bacon.”  ”Yes, I prefer links,” was my reply.  It was at that moment that I knew I was a victim of hypothermia.  After I was at the restaurant for about 20 minutes, I  warmed up enough to start shivering.

When I finished eating at Bob Evans, I crossed the street to the TSC (Tractor Supply Company), a farm store that I know sells long johns.  I bought a pair of long johns and added them to my layers of clothing.  The long johns helped tremendously, but I still suffered from hypothermia for the rest of the ride.  

In Florence, KY it started snowing.  I was halfway to my destination at this point.  It snowed on me for about 1 1/2 hours.  The snow only stopped when the rain started.  The looks I got from people while riding in the snow at 33 degrees were looks of disbelief.  

I pulled in at my Uncle’s house in Maryville, TN at about 3:45PM.  I was glad the ride was over.  This is the first time in my life that I have not thoroughly enjoyed riding a motorcycle.  I was rethinking my decision to take the motorcycle for the last half of my ride.  Again, after I was off of the bike for about 30 minutes, I started shivering.  I shivered for about two hours off and on.  It was about three hours after arriving that we found out the heat had been switched off in the house.  I was still very cold when I went to bed at about midnight.

The effects of hypothermia can vary from person to person, but they usually include the following list:

• pale, puffy face
• cold feet, hands, and face
• shivering (may not be present with the elderly)
• listlessness
• drowsiness
• mental confusion, irrational thinking
• apathetic, hostile, irritable attitude
• cold abdomen
• poor coordination and balance
• stilted, jerking movement
• slow, shallow breathing
• slowed or irregular heartbeat
• stiff muscles and some trembling on one side of the body
• loss of consciousness
• loss of heartbeat

This list actually follows the most common order for hypothermia symptoms.  I am not a doctor, but I am a paramedic.  I realized at the restaurant that I had a pretty significant case of hypothermia, as I had poor coordination and balance, confusion, and shivering had stopped.  As you can see in the list, it is probably a good thing that my hypothermia did not get much worse.

In 500 miles of riding, I saw three other motorcycles on the freeway.  Everybody I know said I was crazy for taking a 500 mile motorcycle ride in the middle of November, but I contend that the ride was not crazy.  My taking the ride with inappropriate gear was what was crazy.  After arriving in Tennessee and spending one night, I went to Destination Motorcycles and purchased my Tour Master Synergy heated liners and a pair of Olympia Ranger 2 Overpants.  The ride home was in toasty comfort.  There was no threat of hypothermia, as I rode with the heated gear on low in the morning, and by afternoon, I had to turn off the heat, as I was getting too warm.  I would encourage anybody who rides in the cold weather to buy heated clothing.  I never realized how nice it would be to have heated gear.  

After riding 500 miles in the cold (35 degrees and below), I realize that heated clothing is safety equipment.  I was not prepared for the ride I was taking, but that has changed.  I have learned from my mistakes.  I will not let that happen again.  I have ridden about 750 miles in my heated gear now and could not be happier.  It snowed on me on the way to work Saturday and the temperature was 28 degrees.  I never felt cold.  It snowed the next day on the way home and the temperature was 27 degrees.  I could ride all winter when the roads are clear.  Prior to getting my heated clothing, the coldest I have ridden has been 8 degrees, and I froze.  My commute is 20 miles each way and is safer now with my new gear.

Last week, I rode my motorcycle to work and it was 33 degrees in the morning when I left home. I was warm enough with the gear that I currently have, but I was thinking how nice it would be to have a heated suit. I called a relative that has used several heated suits and asked his opinion of each. I was told that I could not go wrong with the Tour Master Synergy line. My relative has the Tour Master Synergy Heated Jacket Liner  and the Tour Master Synergy Heated Pant Liner .  He loves these heated accessories as they are thin and do not add the bulk of all of the layers that I pile on while riding in the winter.  He says that he seldom has to turn the heated clothing on the high setting.  He did have the controllers burn up when he first bought them, and the company recognized a problem and sent free replacements.  Since he received the replacements, he has not had a problem at all.

I took his advice and set out looking for the Tour Master heated gear.  I looked up several Tour Master dealers from the Tour Master website.  I found many that carry gloves and luggage, but not many that carry the clothing lines around here.  The nearest store was 30 miles away, not too far to ride by any means.  I rode to the first dealer in Cuyahoga Falls, OH and they were not open yet, but a nice lady told me of a diner to eat breakfast, more on that later.  I returned to the dealer after they were open and they had a huge selection of clothing, but nothing heated.  I was looked at like I had a third eye because I wanted something to allow me to ride deeper into the winter months.  

My breakfast was excellent.  I was glad that I went to the Reggie’s, the diner that the motorcycle shop employee pointed me to.  I was sitting there thinking of how good my breakfast of corned beef hash and scrambled eggs was when the guy sitting at the next table stopped the waitress to tell her “This is the best breakfast I have had in 20 years!”  It turns out that the other guy is an truck driver and eats breakfast on the road everyday.  I normally don’t get very excited about breakfast, but this was very good.  I will be going back to Reggie’s to have breakfast another day.

After my trip to Cuyahoga Falls, I rode home to change clothes.  I continued looking for a set of Tour Master Synergy heated liners.  One big problem that I had was that it was a Monday, and many shops are not open.  I had to ride to Cadiz to meet with my in-laws as they were camping with our daughter.  Amy gave me the location of another dealer that carried Tour Master clothing, and again, they did not have any of the Synergy heated liners.  Again, I was looked at like a creature from outer space because I actually wanted to ride in colder weather than what we have been having.  I was referred to a Harley Davidson shop by the employees at the second shop.  I checked the Harley Davidson shop and was basically laughed out of town.  The guy at the Harley shop said “You don’t ride a bike with this much chrome in the winter.”

I have given up on the search for Tour Master Synergy heated liners at local shops, as I have called several and got the same reply.  All of them can order them, and then I have to prepay, go pick them up when the arrive, and none of the dealers are in my back yard.  I am ordering them online. Motorcycle Superstore
has Tour Master Synergy heated liners at great prices and they have a very generous return policy.  A friend of mine has purchased several items from them and had to return some because of ordering the wrong size (you know how some motorcycle stuff can be).  He reports it to be hassle free.

As soon as I get a chance to ride in my Tour Master Synergy heated liners, I will give a product report.  I do not need them yet, but in a few weeks they will be very nice.  I was willing to look at other brands, but I found none in stock anywhere.  I was looking for the Tour Master Synergy line because of the recommendation of my relative.