Don't try this at home.

11:48pm on a Friday night...
36 degress in my neck of the woods...
and I just got back from a 30 mile ride on the interstate.
That's why you shouldn't try this at home...unless you have sweet-ass heated riding gear like John and I have. See below:

I've probably told most of you how John made heated riding gear for himself using an old electric blanket. I doted on it quite a bit and probably dropped more hints than my momma would consider polite. So when I mentioned it to him a couple of weeks ago, he had me a "loom" already made up. Basically, he had everything from the battery all the way through the switch to the resistance wires in the blanket. All I had to do was the monotonous task of sewing the resistance wires into the removable liner of my MotoGP jacket. And so that's what I did this week whilst I was recuperating from surgery. Nothing better than sewing with one eye swollen shut. As for more of the details, there's an 8amp fuse in-line just off the positive wire that comes off the battery. And observe some of the other kick ass features in the pic below. For example, there's the male to female audio jack "quick disconnect" feature. Basically, if you forget you're plugged in and start to walk away from the bike, you just come unplugged instead of ripping the loom out of the jacket. And also notice the craftsmanship on the on / off switch. It's encased in JB Weld. Turns out John knew JB Weld personally. They were best buds growing up. I'm just saying that's a fine job done with the JB Weld.

And so is the proof in the pudding? Indeed. I went out for a 30-mile ride, mostly all interstate, at around 11:30pm tonight. Got back around midnight. It was in the low 40's today and was spitting rain off and on. Roads were dry when I went out tonight, but it was cold as snot. I was wearing thermal long john pants (under my brown pants of course), similar long sleeve shirt, a t-shirt and the MotoGP jacket with the liner in it. Heavy gloves and a neck gator. Honestly, at 36 degrees, it wasn't toasty, but it was warm enough to counteract the bitter ass cold. There was no heat from sunshine either, mind you. So I'll typically never ride in the dark and probably never ride in 36 degree temps, and if I do I would wear my rain gear as additional wind break. That helps, by the way. But in these conditions, sustaining 70 to 80mph indicated, I was able to maintain a decently comfortable core temperature. It kept me warm enough that when the ride was done, I was feeling good enough to clean my chain in my UNHEATED garage. There's a lot to be said for that. I think if the air temps were 10 degrees warmer, say in the mid 40's and if riding in daylight, I would be quite comfortable. This is a victory in my book, and a nice addition to my bag of tricks.