Pretty Darn Cold

Sunny and cold this morning. It was definitely below freezing last night as the neighbourhood is covered in frost. The sun lured me out on a ride, however.
I bundled up with three layers on the legs, two pairs of socks and five layers up top. Once off the side streets the main roads were pretty dry, but just some damp patches in the shadows. I got on to the highway despite the on-ramp being pretty wet. I was worried about little frozen patches that just wouldn't be fun on two wheels.
On highway 1 west towards Horseshoe bay there was still frost on the guardrails and shoulders, but the roadway itself was pretty good. Brilliant sunshine and I love that part of the highway because of the views over the city to the south.
I did see a salt truck and that got me thinking about more frost ahead. I figured I would be okay to get to Squamish, but now I was reconsidering. I got as far as Horseshoe bay and decided I wasn't having fun. I was worrying too much about hitting frost on the roadway, especially since it was getting wetter, not dryer, the further west I went.
So I turned around just past the ferry terminal and headed home. There was an RCMP SUV blocking one lane of traffic before the "warning 60 km/h" curve in North Vancouver. I figure the officer was just slowing us all down so we didn't lose control on the curve, which most people take at 90 km/h. Uneventful trip in all, but not terribly satisfying.
Now, sitting at home, I'm glad I cut the ride short for another reason: I'm really cold! Even with all the layers, the lack of fairing and small windshield on the GS just doesn't cut the wind enough. My hands were pretty toasty (Yay! Heated grips!) but the rest of me still has a chill.

Ride Hard, Ride Smart (book)

I recently read a book called Ride Hard, Ride Smart: Ultimate Street Strategies for Advanced Motorcyclists by Pat Hahn. I picked it up at Bolen Books in Victoria, BC over the Canadian Thanksgiving weekend.
Overall I liked the book quite a bit. It's got a lot of good information, including riding strategies and techniques along with many discussions of why accidents occur. It's made me think about my riding style and ways I can improve it to "ride smarter." So that's a good thing.
The production values of the book are great with some small exceptions for some rather amateurish photos. The use of colour throughout is a highlight.
I don't know Pat Hahn's bibliography, but I suspect this is his (or her?) first book. Some of the writing needs better editing as it, too, seems a little amateur. It doesn't detract from the book much and I applaud the author for taking the time and making the effort to write a book like this.
One particular highlight is the chapter on Night Riding: "Don't ride at night." And that's the entire chapter.
Here're two Amazon links:
Canada
Excited States of America