One Holiday down...

I've been wandering around through the Thanksgiving holiday and following week by visiting friends and taking care of some family business here and there.  I met with a bunch of old friends while in Illinois and the idea of biking only came up once, a high schoolmate jokingly asked if I had ridden my bike to the get together.  He honestly looked shocked when I told him I was traveling with one although I hadn't ridden that night. 

 Oh, well it is late fall and there are signs

that winter is around the corner.  This pile will undoubtedly get cleaned up since it's at a bus stop rather than in a bike lane.  But the cold weather had made me look at a couple of different cold weather options.  With ski season around the corner, MC Sports has a store full of fashion stuff for falling down snowy hills.  So, I went to see the "latest and greatest" in the baklava market.  

I had this face thing

from last year, which really works well with a helmet and protects the face and nose without covering the head and making me really hot.  It's either on or off, so it's not too versitile and makes one look like Jason on a killing spree, so as effective as it might be, it's not really socially acceptable.

I did find this nifty "Snowdana"

which is a lightweight fleece bandana with an elastic collar.  It comes in an assortment of styles, I chose the aging hippie look because, well because...oh yeah, it has lots of colors to coordinate with any number jacket/pants ensembles (that's what they would say on daytime TV right?)  All shallowness aside, it is really comfortable and fits around the neck for protection

or can be pulled all the way up to protect the ears as well as the lower part of the face.

It breaks the windchill as well as providing ventilation for comfortable breathing.

Now my son can use the black one, he said it will make him feel really badass riding around on studded tires looking like a mass murderer on a spree.  

I'll feel much less self conscious, looking like an NFL failure robbing gas stations for a living, but stylish you know.