Sullivan, IL -- (SBWIRE) -- 10/18/2011 -- Fall is here once again and for much of the nation this means colder temperatures and rapidly changing weather conditions. Many motorcyclist are looking at the coming cold with dread and sadness knowing that their riding time is drawing to an end for another year. However this doesn't have to be the case if you have some proper cold weather motorcycle gear.

When most people think of cold weather motorcycle gear, they probably think of the well known basics such as leather jackets, leather chaps, and some good quality insulated leather gloves. While all of these protective articles of clothing are important, there are other less thought of pieces of cold weather motorcycle gear that can make riding later into the year and starting earlier next year safer and more comfortable. Special cold weather motorcycle gear items help to protect your skin from the effects of the cold and make your ride much more bearable and comfortable. All motorcyclist know this is particularly important when riding on the highway at higher speeds.

While wearing a quality leather jacket, leather chaps and well insulated leather gloves are very important and will provide much needed protection from the weather, as the temperatures continue to drop these items alone will not be adequate to keep you safe and comfortable. First off and possibly most importantly you need to protect your head and face from the cold. It is well documented that when in cold temperatures humans lose most of their vital body heat through their head. With this in mind it is obviously vital that proper cold weather motorcycle gear must keep the head and face warm and protected.

The balaclava is a very important and effective piece of cold weather motorcycle gear that will help to keep your face and head warm and protect your vital body heat. This piece of cold weather motorcycle gear pulls down over the head and covers and insulates the entire head and face with an oval opening around the eyes. The balaclava very much resembles a ninja style mask. A quality and effective balaclava has an outer material that helps block the wind from cutting through to the skin as well as an inner material that insulates and warms the skin to prevent valuable body heat from escaping. Not everyone likes wearing a balaclava due to the fact that it pulls over the head and can mess your hair up when removed. A very effective alternative piece of cold weather motorcycle gear is an insulated face mask. These masks function very much like the balaclava we were discussing, except they do not pull over the head. Instead, they wrap around the face and close in the back with hook and loop fasteners. They also have an outer layer to stop wind from penetrating and have a padded insulated internal layer to keep the face warm. However unlike a balaclava, face masks do not cover the upper head and are most effective when combined with a hat or hood of some kind. For extremely cold rides, a balaclava with an insulated face mask worn over top will provide ultimate cold weather protection to the face.