Bring on the winter

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I bought some winter bike gear this week; Hein Gericke textile jacket and trousers, and the winter version of my Spada gloves (excitingly called 'Enforcers').  I've also put a Pinlock insert in my visor, using the DIY kit.  It's quite fiddly to fit, you have to place a clear vinyl template over the visor then drill holes where indicated, then push through the pins.  Although there's some adjustment on the pins (they're eccentric), if you get the position of the holes wrong by a couple of millimetres then it's never going to fit.

I went for a ride of about 15 miles in the cold, and the pinlock is just amazing!  There was plenty of condensation around the edges of the visor, but the pinlock area remained completely clear, I didn't have to open the visor once.  Unfortunately my soft little hands got very cold, so I'll either have to get heated grips or man up a bit.

Had a look at some bikes at George Whites in Swindon today, there's some good deals to be had right now.  Looked at a late model Honda VFR, Triumph Speed Triple, and a Triumph Sprint ST.  There are a lot of cheap Street Triples up for sale privately too, I reckon they're the most handsome bikes on the planet but I don't think they'd suit my requirements.  I'll just have to endure test riding them all next year :)

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