Last year I rode south from Mexico to Ushuaia on a Honda 125, eight to ten hours a day in the sadle. Apart from the numb butt, my biggest problem was clothing: how to keep warm crossing the alteplano and cool at sea level on the equator. I don't have much storage space. In cities I have to look reasonably smart when interviewing people. I wear good Church's shoes which polish up, charcoal chinos and a good shirt.However riding in real cold I end up wearing two pairs of long underwear, two pairs of pyjamas, three pairs of chinos, all my shirts, two pullovers and a bright blue Peruvian rain suit. I look like a blue baloon and have great difficulty getting at what I need to get at (old men have to hurry). AND I FREEZE....
Near Boquette I was riding in driving sleet and found myself laughing outloud (see archive on Blog at www.simongandolfi.com). That I can enjoy the experience proves that I am either crazy or a real biker - probably both. However my only purchases for the southern leg were a used Clancy Brothers sweater and green cord shirt at a thrift store (in hope of an upgrade on the Aerlingus flight from UK to Boston). I want to be better prepared this year for the ride back up to Duchess County, NY. Particularly as I will bve riding north into a US winter. Why? Because at 74 I don't have time to wait for good weather. Can anyone out there advise on light warm clothing that packs into a thimble?