Friday morning report

I’m back at the same old stand this morning, but at least I came on two wheels.

The bank time and temperature signs I passed ranged from 51 to 55, but I was perfectly comfortable thanks to my Willis & Geiger Diaplex pullover under my BMW Savanna jacket. I had the great fortune to learn about Willis & Geiger stuff a few months before the company went out of business. Indianapolis News colleague Art Harris got me up to speed on W&G when he started showing up at work with really cool W&G clothes. Willis & Geiger was the primo expedition outfitter of the 20th century. They outfitted such greats as Teddy Roosevelt, Ernest Hemingway and Amelia Earhart, but they fell on hard times in the late 1990s. They were bought by Land’s End, but failed to flourish and the company was chloroformed by Land’s End bean counters.

The Diaplex pullover is probably the best W&G item I ever bought. Actually I bought one for myself and one for Maria. Diaplex is like Gore Windstopper on steroids – very lightweight and breathable. It makes for a sweater that is quite comfortable at room temperature, yet it stands up to really frigid wind.

Art hates being a human billboard, so he had the Willis & Geiger Diaplex patch removed from the left shoulder of his pullover. I, on the other hand, have no such qualms and kinda like the decorative value of the patch.

I love being able to ride this late in the year. It’s officially 56 degrees in Jonesboro, heading for a high of 64. If I were in Crawfordsville, Ind., where it’s only 43 (windchill factor of 41) going to a high of 53, I probably wouldn’t be riding today.

It’s a minor inconvenience, but the climate change has thrown off all of our seasonal weather cues. There is no way in hell that it feels like less than a week before Thanksgiving and Christmas here doesn’t feel a thing – weather-wise – like Christmas in Indiana. Of course, this little bit of cognitive dissonance isn’t anything like the changes Steve and Nicky went through moving to Las Vegas from Cincinnati. I haven’t heard any complaining from them either.