Start off and state up front no where does this company claim that this device works with a motorcycle helmet. But I suspect that it may.

TuneBug Shake is a conductive speaker that attaches to a surface and it's the surface it's mounted to becomes the speaker. So the plastic and fireglass in your helmet that becomes your speaker, as the peizo electrics in the device vibrate the helmet and emit the sound. Really clever device, sound quality won't be that great, but it'd free up your ears to give you better auditory awareness as you ride. As opposed to headphones which is just plain dangerous.

I'm hearing impaired and would never use such a device myself, mostly due to saftey. I don't want to die just because I want to hear Billy Idol and rock out like a dork from the 80's. Nor would I care to die even if I had a better playlist.

The gadget is bluetooth so it can be mated up with a receiver or an iPhone or iPod Touch so there's no wires to dangle. The device affixes either a strap or thru adhesive pads mated to the helmet as illustrated in the skateboard helmet on the left.

Product sells for $119, if it works with a motorcycle helmet, could be a cool invotion for riders. If it does not work with motorcyle helmets, well then you've read this for naught!

The weather has been at it's coldest here in Northern Alabama, coldest it's been in all of 2010 so fa (not much of an achievement a few days in). Rode when it was 20ºF out and a bit of wind was sneaking under my helmet stinging my neck. Which got me thinking about windchill.

At 20ºF riding at 60mph the windchill would make it feel like it's -4ºF! What is worth noting is this chart from NWS/NOAA is the facts about when frostbite may occur. Something to keep in mind in order to keep your fingers.

Hell for Leather has a well thought out article on the future of electric motorcycles and their pending impact. Worth a read...

Dragging my feet and I didn't want to get my butt out the door in a timely fashion. Finally convinced myself that procrastinating any further would make me late for work. All the while inadvertently leaving my warmest pair of gloves at home, I suffered thru the ride to work with painfully cold finger tips.

With it going to be getting colder after the sun sets I took a trip over to the bike near my place of employment and sought new gloves.

Looked around, didn't see anything at all that said "warm" to me. Helpful guy across the counter noticed I was looking for something but to no avail. Offered me some assistance and points to these Alpinestars gloves that I had overlooked. Priced at $59 figured I'd give them a shot as it they were the most functional of what they had in their inventory.

I'm rather impressed with these gloves. Honestly advertised to be wind and water proof, yet breathable so your hands do not sweat as much. Amazingly thin and pliable gloves that offer excellent dexterity. Giving plenty of feel for your controls and with such a slim profile I can even fish my keys out of my jeans with them on. Enough of a gauntlet to keep the wind and rain from going up your sleeve with a cinch strap for your forearm and another for your wrist.

Being from Northern Alabama we don't have the most severe cold temperatures. But it's been in the 20's and 30's lately and these gloves have held up well for my commute. My commute being about eleven miles. When it's above 32ºF these gloves can offer a few hours of sufficient warmth. When it gets into the mid 20's and below these gloves offer enough comfort for my short commute. But any riding in duration in 25ºF or below is not advised, around half an hour in such temperatures you do start to feel a bit of numbing in the digits.

For $59 you can't do much better for price and performance if you live in a climate that hovers around 25-40ºF.