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When does winter start where you live?
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October 25, 2010 at 2:15 am #28684owlieParticipant
Same thing for the trick-or-treaters around here. Half of them don’t even walk the neighborhoods. They jump in and out of their parents’ car to warm up….
October 25, 2010 at 5:24 am #28687madjak30ParticipantIt is snowing outside right now…all the grass is turning white, and my truck is two tone now…blah…I was hoping to get a couple more rides in…it’s supposed to snow all night and tomorrow…
Maybe it will warm up a little and melt…who know around here lately, but I’m not going to hold my breath…
Later.
November 1, 2010 at 5:59 am #28725kirkParticipantWest Texas riders get to ride most of the year. It doesn’t get really cold till about December and even then we can still ride. It is rare that we see snow or ice here.
November 1, 2010 at 2:25 pm #28727madjak30ParticipantI’ll take the “global warming” thing now…it’s rare that we don’t have snow after Halloween, but I’ll take it. It was 10C (50F) last night for the trick-or-treaters, so quite nice for the kids and the parents who had to walk them around…this morning it had only cooled off to 1C (34F), so I rode into work…I got a couple of strange looks when I pulled up, but I don’t care…I’m ridin’…
It’s supposed to be nice like this all week, so atleast one more week of riding up here in the “Great White North”…
Later.
November 4, 2010 at 3:08 pm #28737namvette68ParticipantI live across the lake in New York ,and we still have a few days to go. We might even make it in to December?
November 7, 2010 at 12:22 am #28743ranetteParticipantThis upcoming week looks pretty doable. Then she’s off to the barn.
Last year in Mid January, temps in the low 20’s, I saw a guy riding in Burlington. I tipped my hat from my heated Ford.
November 7, 2010 at 1:11 am #28745Jeff in KentuckyParticipantI will ride 20 miles if it is 40 degrees F and dry- most winters I only have a 3 week cold spell to not ride in central Kentucky, when I take a few afternoons off from work to ride on warmer weekdays. Any overtime I work gives me comp time to take off later.
One time when I was in my 20s I took a 70 mile trip when it was a 22 degrees F sunny day after freezing rain the day before, when the roads were mostly clean from the bright sunlight and the ice coated tree branches sparkled in the sun, except for some occasional wind blown snow an inch deep on the pavement- I already had 5 years of dirt bike riding and enjoyed sliding street motorcycle tires a little. I stopped a few times at stores along the way to warm up. At 51 now, this seems too dangerous for me.
I wear Thinsulate lined skiing gloves from a department store if it gets colder- they are not too thick, and are a lot cheaper than this pair of gloves I would probably buy if I did a lot more riding in the cold:
http://stores.sportbiketrackgear.com/Detail.bok?no=419
It is best to buy electric gloves or grips and an electric vest for any long cold rides- if you get too cold it can slow your reaction time and lead to a crash, and below about 35 degrees F there can be black or invisible ice on some of the pavement. I know a guy with a BMW sport tourer that has air vents to put some of the engine heat onto the backs of his hands, along with a full fairing to block most of the wind.
This 3-wheeler is a lot safer for not sliding the front end when the roads are slippery, compared to a regular motorcycle:
http://www.motorcycle-usa.com/225/4437/Motorcycle-Article/2009-Piaggio-MP3-500-Scooter-Review.aspx
November 8, 2010 at 9:53 am #28752tomfelockParticipantSomeone mentioned needing snowmobile gloves for the cold weather. Guys and gals – when you get time, read the reviews on “Outdoor Research Alti Mitts”. Once you read them , you’ll be tempted to invest in them ( these puppies are meant to be used to climb high mountains). I just bought Gerbing’s heated gloves and I was surprised that they are not as warm as I expected they would be. So far, they are ok because it hasn’t gotten that cold around here yet. I also have heated grips AND hand guards, so I am curious just how low the temps will have to go before all of these 3 things combined aren’t effective anymore. I will keep you posted. For my feet, I plan on wearing Cabela’s 2,000 gram thinsulate hunting boots along with 2 or 3 pairs of Cabela’s wool socks. As you can see, I am kinda making it my project to see what I can do so that cold weather isn’t a problem. Oh – one more thing I accidentally discovered. I find that if the FIRST thing I put on my upper body is some type of pullover sweater, that helps a lot. My leather jacket is a size 50 ( chest size is about 44), so I can actually wear a parka and sweater under it – haha!
November 8, 2010 at 4:01 pm #28753eonParticipantRemember that motorcycle gear is designed to protect you from road rash as well as the elements. I have no idea how long those gloves would hold up sliding down the road at 50mph and I wouldn’t want to be the one to find out. Also those boots would concern me. No impact protection at all would mean even a simple fall where the bike lands on your foot could cause major damage.
Everyone comes to their own decision about how much protection is enough, but please don’t forget about it in an effort to keep warm.
November 9, 2010 at 8:15 pm #28758tomfelockParticipantYou make good points. The Gerbing heated gloves do have some protection – they are the T5 model. The boots are 12″ high and made of a good quality leather. And finally, I do ride a trike, so no need to worry about the bike falling. Don’t take me the wrong way – I totally agree with you that in spite of what I just said, there is no guarantee that some odd crazy thing might still happen which could result in an injury or worse. It’s the nature of the beast.
November 9, 2010 at 9:27 pm #28759eonParticipantNo offense taken. You are aware of the risks and you make a choice that works for you, and riding a trike your risks of sliding down the road are a lot less than most of us. On a beginner site though I just want to be sure people realize what consequences the choices they are making may have.
I have no idea what protection snow mobile gear would offer in the event of a crash but I have a hard time thinking would match dedicated motorcycle gear. But if someone chooses that with knowledge of the risks then that is fine with me. Just would hate to see someone make that choice in ignorance and then potentially learn the hard way it was a bad choice.
November 10, 2010 at 12:37 am #28761TrialsRiderParticipantThe thing that set’s me off riding in winter is road salt, we had a heavy frost 2 days ago and MOT already felt compelled to sand and salt our roadways. I just can’t bring myself to exposing my motorcycles to the same brine that ravages our cars with rust and corrosion in as little as 5 years, so my beemer won’t see pavement now until the insanity ceases and a heavy spring shower washes away MOT’s toxic mess. Trials is another story, when the snow crusts up solid enough to support the bike, I’ll ride any time. Push the bike into the house so it warms up enough to start, then I ride the snowbanks and exposed rock faces
November 10, 2010 at 3:33 pm #28762madjak30ParticipantI think commuting is done for the season, but I will still try to get a ride in this weekend…it was -14C (7F) this morning, and it doesn’t sound like it will be getting any warmer anytime soon. The daytime highs are around 5C (41F), so mid-day rides are still an option…they are calling for snow all weekend though…
I have Thursday and Friday off this week, so I will be trying to get a ride in on Friday (Thursday is a busy day for me)…once the season is surely done, it is time for new rubber…I got over 9000kms (5625 miles) in this year…not too bad considering the unusually wet and cool weather that we had over the summer (it’s usually near drought in the summers here…prairies).
Later.
November 15, 2010 at 7:42 pm #28790ranetteParticipantGot in my last ride yesterday, November 14th, not bad for north central Vermont, and a great ride it was. Yo-Yo’d Route 17, the Appalachian Gap, certainly one of the better roads to ride in Vermont and all of the northeast. Road was in great condition, no sand, salt or ice. A few spots where melting ice had spread some water on the road were a little disconcerting at first, I approached them like it was my first day on two wheels. I knew that it was above freezing but I wasn’t about to take a chance there wasn’t a little black ice hiding out, thankfully there wasn’t. I did my best Rossi impersonation(which isn’t very close to the real thing) and had a great time on the seemingly endless curves of the AppGap.
Safely home, chilly? a little, exhilarated? a lot. All in all a great season, great riding weather in the northeast, many thousands of miles, no drops and nothing too scary. The bike is in the barn, the skis come out next week, ready for winter.
November 16, 2010 at 5:33 am #28791madjak30ParticipantGusting wind, blowing snow, temps dropping like a rock…bleh…we are expecting 10cm (4″) of snow tonight…I’ll have to take a pic in the morning, should be pretty…sucks for riding though…time for tire replacement and start working on the Firebird again…sore bum is better than bloody knuckles, except you can have beer when scraping your knuckles…lol
Atleast I got a last ride in on Saturday…Nov 13th in Alberta, Canada…not too bad…
Later.
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