This list is a little more important than clothing and took me a while to assemble all of the pieces I needed. As I found on my weekend excursion to Michigan, comfortable riding gear is extremely important. Here’s what I’m bringing, links to such things if you’re interested, whats on my wish list and some tips I’ve learned along the way. I’ll have comments below the picture on most of the items.

• 1 Riding Jacket – Spidi Mesh Jacket
• 1 Warm Under Jacket Thing – Spidi Thermal Underlayer
• 1 Pair of Badass Boots – Chippewa Station Boots
• 1 Full Face Helmet
• 1 Half Helmet – Bell Pit Boss
• 2 (maybe 3, game time decision) Pairs of Riding Goggles – 3 pack
• 1 Pair of Fingerless Gloves – Leather Gel Thingers
• 1 Pair of Warmer Fingered Gloves
• 1 Set of Rain Gear – Joe Rocket RS-2 Riding Suit
• 1 Neck Warmer – Comsmart Winter Half Faced Mask (not pictured below)

Some thoughts on these items:

Riding Jacket

I would say the golden rule here is to try it on. I was really hesitant to buy a jacket on the internet and I’m glad I didn’t. I stopped in to a local bike shop and tried on a medium version of this Spidi jacket. Usually I’m a small and that’s what I would have ordered online, but I was surprised to find that this thing fit absolutely perfectly. Apparently Italian companies tend to run small, something I had no idea about.

The jacket itself is awesome. Pockets galore, breathes excellently and has arm zippers for going around your gloves if you choose. This particular jacket has a complementary thermal and waterproof underlayer that snaps in. I picked up the thermal portion after the Michigan trip since it was quite chilly at only 67 degrees. It also works as a light walking around jacket if I needed. Overall very happy with the purchase.

Seeing as I’ll be riding a decent portion in the south/southwest, I really wanted something breathable. This jacket is very much so while still maintaining armor on the inside for some protection. Jackets can get really expensive, but this one was reasonable at 200 bucks. An extra 60 for the thermal layer.

Badass Boots

The boots I nabbed are possibly my favorite Amazon purchase in a long time. That being said, they were also a giant pain in the ass.

I opted for the Chippewa Station boots after reading this gentleman’s write up on them for riding. He does a great write up on boots in general found here.

I took a risk by buying these directly from Amazon without trying them on first, but I noticed them listed at only 100 bucks (regularly like 270) in the size I was pretty sure I was so I jumped on it.

They are rock solid, sturdy as hell, totally badass boots and were a  complete nightmare lacing up. They come with 4 laces, all of which you need to use, and a zipper part that is completely detached in the box. There are two different methods of lacing, tutorials found here were most helpful for me, and it was a whole night’s work in adjusting them to be comfortable and capable of actually zipping up.

Now that they’re all set though (and broken in, super stiff at first), I love em. The only worry I have is with heat. Riding from Chicago to Villa Park on the highway in traffic had them heating up pretty good. We’ll see though, I think it’ll be fine. They also give me an extra 2 inches or so in height, so I’m not constantly tippy toeing on the bike, which is nice.

Full Face Helmet

Probably a necessity on this type of trip. It protects from rain and very nice to have when cold. I used mine during a portion of my trip to MI while it started to rain, and on the way home when it was chilly in the morning. I don’t really have a recommendation on which one here, mine is a Good Will purchase from a while back. Much like the jacket though, I’d recommend trying something on in a store to ensure it’s a good fit and comfortable.

Half Helmet

I originally bought this VCAN cruiser half helmet and quickly learned it was a giant piece of shit. Its OK if you’re cruising around town and keeping it under 40 mph, but as soon as I hit cruising speed on the highway it wanted to lift off. So I had to really strap it down tight on my head. It wasn’t super comfortable after about a half hour of riding.

So, lesson learned. Try em on first boys and girls. I read a lot of good reviews about the Bell Pit Boss and decided to check it out at my local bike shop. I’m glad I did and didn’t just order right online, since I probably would have ordered a small but I turned out to need a medium. Best thing is the hard-hat like adjuster which really prevents that ability to lift off like my first one.

I have only one beef that needs squashing with this helmet – the chin strap is super annoying. It was really digging into my neck on the Michigan trip. I wound up buying this chin strap pad and it’s made all the difference.

Riding Goggles

I grabbed this set of cheapos and they’ve done me well so far. I also have a pair of decent igogs with yellow tint that are much better quality, but they’re starting to get a little scuffed and not great for when it’s supper sunny. I’ll probably still bring them along, with a tinted and clear pair of cheapos.

Glurves

The fingerless gloves are great. The pair I got aren’t super great quality. The little “gel” fabric tab annoyed me and ripping it off yielded a gaping hole in the glove. But having the little bit of protection, barrier between hand and grip and still being able to maintain the dextrous nature of bare fingers is great.

My other pair is just an old pair of winter gloves. They have those little pads that allow use of a phone but they’re too big and bulky for that anyway. They’re not the warmest and definitely not water proof. On my wishlist is a good pair of warm/waterproof riding gloves. I never got around to finding a pair that didn’t break the bank, but it’s something to think about in the future.

Rain Gear

Originally I stopped off at an Army Surplus store and grabbed what I thought was a decent set of rain gear. Little did I know that it was actually a really crappy set of rain gear. It was big in some places, small in other places and would have probably melted right onto the pipes.

After realizing my mistake, I opted for the Joe Rocket RS-2 riding set, and coming in at 20 bucks more than I spent on the shitty pair, it was totally worth it. I never even knew a set of rain gear could be classified as “having features.”

Its fits great, form fitting with elastic bands, has heat shield on legs for protection against engine and pipes, ability to unzip pant legs to fit over boot, bottom boot strap to keep from riding up, reflectors and a decently tight neck hole. Love it, would highly recommend. Hopefully I don’t have to use it though.

Whew, long one, ok that’s it for this time! Lemme know if you have a recommendation on riding gloves in the comments section.