I am not about to get all philosophical about how close we are to each other on this “vasudha” nor will I introduce new quality processes. Instead, I’m talking about ONE DEGREE CELCIUS!

Yes, that’s all it took today to begin the process of my core temperature to decline. I left just after noon and the temperature was 4-degrees C with the sun mostly out. There were clouds but until I got to Cornwall, the clouds didn’t block the sun so much. I had on a thermo Italian Riding Shirt (layer One) followed by a Rev’It Core Winter Jacket (Layer Two) and topped off with my KLIM Latitude Gore-Tex Jacket. I bet I could ride all day at  5-Degrees with the sun out.

But that is not what happened today. Instead, by 2:00 PM I was riding back on highway # 2 alone side the river. I looked down and noticed the temperature was 3-Degrees C. Not much of a difference one would say but I suddenly felt my core temperature beginning to drop. It was almost as if I had left vent open on my jacket or that my Rev’It was not zippered up the front under the KLIM. I had rode an hour or so without any issues but now I started to feel cold. Uncomfortably cold and a bit worried about getting home. I always carry an extra sweater in my saddlebag but I find that the extra layer starts to cramp my riding style and I feel like the Pillsbury man. As I was coming to the circle in Long Sault I saw a Tim Hortons so I stopped to warm up. One coffee and some warm up tricks. First I removed the KLIM and the Rev’It to allow my core to warm. I then warmed up my hands using the coffee while drinking it to begin the warm-up process from the inside out. After the coffee was half finished, I went to the bathroom (its a single bathroom) and kneeled a bit in front of the hand warmer so as to guide the hot air down the front of my Italian base layer. I stayed for about three minutes until I could feel the heat everywhere.  Then I finished my second half of the coffee and returned back to the bathroom with my gloves and Rev’It jacket. In about 5-minutes I had blown enough hot air into the jacket and gloves to make them toasty. Luckily there were no line-ups for the bathroom today.

At this point I was ready to continue towards home but I was determined to start heading north off of highway # 2 to avoid the river wind. I headed north at Ingleside and after 15-minutes I noticed the temperature had risen to a whopping 4-degrees C. I was still cold but my core was loosing heat at a much slower rate than it was on highway # 2. All this time the sun was hidden behind the clouds. As I approached Chesterville the sun suddenly appeared.Let me tell you that it felt like a warm blanket was wrapped around me. I couldn’t believe it. I started thinking to myself as the sun would appear and then disappear between the clouds on how much of a difference it makes; even while travelling at 95 Km/hr. Sun means warmth regardless of what the temperature says.

I travelled 162 Kilometers today and rode for just under three hours choosing all of the curvy backroads that I know of.  When I arrived home I curled up on the sofa with Butler and Porthos in front of the Gas Fireplace with a cup of HOT Coffee.

Looks like Thursday will be a high of 7-degrees C with no rain and next week is showing temperatures over 10-degrees C (but some rain is forecasted). So my riding season may continue for another week at least.

I have had many opportunities to ride in the two weeks. In fact, I have added yet another 1000 Km on the R1200R since October 18th, 2018

Some Pictures Along the Way