Last Friday (November 13), I decided to ride the bike down to Jon. My original plan was to ride down Saturday morning, but Jon kept pushing me to go for Friday night. Though others argued against it, I decided to cut out of work a little early, run home, pack, and head out.
It was just barely above freezing when I left. As I noted previously, I was wearing my Tourmaster jacket and pants with all liners. I was also wearing my winter gloves. At one point, I pulled out my balaclava, towel, hoodie, and pocket chemical warmers.
I was still cold.
I literally had to pull over at every rest stop between Tahoe and Auburn to at least attempt to get the circulation back in my extremities, an endeavor in which I was only partially successful. By the time I hit Auburn, I was ready to call it a night. I drove over to Ikeda’s (Point
B) to grab some dried fruit and call Jon. He attempted to persuade me to continue on; I told him I would eat and then let him know. I headed to Denny’s (Point C) to warm up and get some food in me.
While there, Jon suggested we meet up halfway, at a Starbucks in Dixon (Point D), possibly swapping bikes there (as his bike has all kinds of cold weather friendly features, such as heated grips, massive fairings and an adjustable windshield). It sounded like a good idea to meet up, if nothing else.
Unfortunately, after chatting a bit our bikes did not want to start. Jon was able to get his going after a couple of minutes, but mine just refused to join the party. I tried bump-starting it; we tried jumping it; nothing. Disappointed, I called Progressive and asked for some roadside assistance; 30 minutes later a truck arrived (towing a motorcycle carrier). As I explained to Jed (The tow truck guy) what we had tried, he had me try to bump-start it again and this time gave me a shove. This seemed to make all the difference as the bike suddenly ROARED to life.
I circled back and parked the bike in neutral (keeping it running for obvious reasons). Jed had me fill out the necessary paperwork and then Jon and I suited up and drove back to his house for the night. Final travel time: 6 hours, which is roughly twice what it should take.
Lessons Learned: When suiting up for cold weather, wear everything and if you suddenly find yourself too warm, then peel off a layer or two. And, if you are having trouble bump-starting your bike, get someone to give you a shove.