Who rides in winter

[AlbertaFarmer]

Not no, but HELL NO! Exactly what do you farm up there, icicles?

It's prime wheat, barley and canola country. Icicle crop is looking pretty promising this year as well.

Aint' so bad down where I'm at (a couple hours north of Montana). We get Chinook winds coming over the Rockies a few times a year. It will swing wildly and you wake up after a cold night to a warm morning. Those poor bastards North and East of here aren't so lucky. Long stretches of -40 are not at all uncommon. I did a year in Edmonton and it was unbelievable. Get down to minus forty and stay that way for weeks. Warmest it got was maybe -20C all winter. Way more snow than I've ever seen, and that happened to be one of the warmest, least snowfall years on record.

As much as I complain about our winters here, I wouldn't trade them for the heat you guys put up with down South. If it gets much over 90F here, it's a big deal.

[Dougtheinternetannoyance123]

I live up in the foothills near Mt Hood here in Oregon. (Near Portland) Great roads both on pavement and off,, And we often get a nice crisp clear fall or winter day thats awesome to ride in. Just have to be careful of the hazards.
We have a stretch of nice sun right now, but in the shade the road might be wet, or even icy, plus lots of leaves falling and they can get slick.
One big hazard where I live up in the hills is wildlife. We actually have an Elk Herd nearby and can often see them grazing. Not something you wish to tangle with. Another is sex crazed drunken deer.

*Let me explain. This time of year lots of fruit is falling off trees, pears and apples mostly so it rots on the ground and ferments. The deer eat it and sometimes get drunk from the fermentation. You know when you had a few shots of tequila and think you can fight everyone?.
Secondly is Rut. Sex cycle of male bucks,, as they said in Top gun,, "Your ego is writing checks your ass cant cash" Well not uncommon at all to see Bucks trying to take other deer on and sometimes, cars and motorcycles. My wife had one last year. She didnt hit the deer, It hit her. Standing in the road saying "Bring it BITCH!" and attacked her car,, mangled her passenger fender and all down the side of the car. But all year long we get Deer vs Motorcycle incidents and many friends who have stories. In some cases you never see it coming. Deer is running at full tilt and bash into you or try to jump over you and knock your ass right off. Seen it a few times and a number of friends had it happen.

When the snow hits,, we like to play,, ATV and dirt bikes,, loads of fun, many of our neighbors do too.

We have a cabin down south and same deal there,, great roads, great scenery and lots of nature to explore. (McKenzie River area). So planning on doing a lot of off roading soon. There is an epic OHV area with 9,500 acres, and 34 miles of trails just over the ridge from our cabin. Some friends go all the time and planning on it as well. In late summer its shut down to motorized vehicles due to fire danger so we tried mt bikes.. was fun,, but its wide open now.

https://www.riderplanet-usa.com/atv/trails/info/oregon_02547/ride_16f9.htm

I have some friends up in Alaska (most near Palmer) and many of them bunker up and build bikes in the winter,, but some still get out and ride. Here is a pix from last year a buddy sent me. Cool little Triumph cub.



**Edit,, he said he took the pix last year, dont know WHY it says 2007 on the tme stamp, maybe the clock settings on the camera or its an older pix, Doesnt change anything,, still cool

[metalheart28]

Its that time of year again. -2 this morning in Glasgow which isn't probably that cold compared to some of the places you lot will be living

I try and keep my bike on the road as many days of the year as I can in order to keep everything running as it should.

I always felt that if you let an older bike sit for too long, they don't like it and tend to develop "issues" when you finally get it running again for the spring.

Riding into work in the morning and back again in the evening in pitch black always feels kind of weird but the roads seem less busy and you do feel pretty fresh by the time you arrive! Anyone else riding through winter?

[ATTACH=CONFIG]98005[/ATTACH]

I dont ride when it's cold anymore, it's just not really enjoyable for me and I dont want to have to bundle up like I'm going for a ride on a snow machine. I always drain the tank and carb and remove the battery and put it on a tender in the warm house and I've never had a problem with my stuff starting in the spring.

[Taverner]

I keep one bike insured year round... if it's over 5*C I'll ride.... assuming it isn't too wet... I prefer riding the dirt bike in the cooler weather... less chance of starting a forest fire.

[seaking]

Yeah that's gonna be a no for me dog. Early fall, 34F, all my carharrts, still cold. Riding like a dick because I'm so fucking cold. Oh and add that onto working on an industrial drive with a lot of dust/a foot of water/bullshit in the road and it gets awful slippery. My coworker slipped on aggregate and he had to be drug tested, what an insult to injury.
I know that's a lot of excuses but I'm just happy to park my ass in a chair and have heat on blast on the five minute drive in to work.

[KevinN]

39F this morning when I rode to get coffee. I don't mind cold weather riding when I'm prepared. I don't fuck around with ice and snow anymore. Thats what my 4wd truck is for.

Looks like me and SKJOLL are neighbors, I'm in Floyds Knobs, IN

[Hatchet54]

You guys are calling the 20's and 30's cold? If it stayed like that where I am I would out every day. In Wyoming we frequently get to 20 or 30 below.

A lot of the winter stays in the 10's-20's. However in my area the road conditions in winter would kill two wheels in a heartbeat. Riding passes at 7% grade with hairpin turns and 3 inches of polished solid ice...I'm crazy, but nowhere near that crazy.

Coldest I ever rode was -2. That's farenheit, mind you, not celsius. Wasn't long, just 5 minutes. But it stung. In my experience though once you reach 0 it's kind of all the same.

Cold temperatures whatever, if the roads were even remotely rideable around me I would find a way. It drives me freaking nuts shutting down for the winter.

[TriNortchopz]

Doug: I have some friends up in Alaska (most near Palmer) and many of them bunker up and build bikes in the winter,, but some still get out and ride. Here is a pix from last year a buddy sent me. Cool little Triumph cub.

Looks like your Alaskan buddy has just the right machine to fit a Sno-Go kit (from link you shared in springer ride thread):

[MOTher]

I remember many times using my pant leg at the shin to scrape the frost off my seat to go home from wherever I'd been. The pic was taking on a New Year's morning when I was about to leave the previous night's party. I'd crashed there because I didn't want to ride home drunk, especially with all the other amateur drunks on the road. Yes, that's snow on the ground, though the roads were clear. Couldn't tell you the temp.

[Tattooo]

Isn't it amazing the difference in riding in the summer and winter???????

In the summer you hate it when you get caught by a red light but in the winter when your coming up on a green light you keep saying change change change....... LOL

[montuckymatt]

This was three weeks ago cresting battle ridge pass in Montana. Flatheads love the cool weather. If I can, I ride.

[JakeF]

Nice!!!

[Guest]

also when you see a red light you start braking a lot sooner haha

[Hoghead]

[ATTACH=CONFIG]98037[/ATTACH] This was three weeks ago cresting battle ridge pass in Montana. Flatheads love the cool weather. If I can, I ride.

Beautiful pic! Bike's cool too.

[BadMonkeyMW]

I do, but I also live in NC, so it doesn't get too bad most of the winter. At this point in my life though, I don't need to prove shit to anyone including myself. If it's below 35, I'm good, I'll drive my truck. I've frozen my ass off enough times over the years. We get enough warmer days throughout the winter that I'll ride on those days. Otherwise we tend to get a lot of shitty cold rain here in the winter so riding on those days isn't worth it one bit.