Weekday Newbie rides

[Farp]

Wow, I didnt expect this snow. Snowing heavily with the roads covered in poco. I cant see Fox wanting to ride out there. Still on, or postponed?

It's raining here in Ladner. I went riding up Sylvester last year under similar conditions and it was one of the the most miserable rides I've ever had, not a bit of fun at all. I ride because I enjoy it, not because I need it, so I'm cancelling.

John

 

[McNutt]

Agreed. Lets hit Tamahi or vedder later in the week or weekend.

 

[Farp]

Agreed. Lets hit Tamahi or vedder later in the week or weekend.

I'm not free to ride this weekend, maybe next, or during the week depending on the weather. It's just started to snow quite heavily here in Ladner so the upper valley mountains are really gonna get a lot of it. Let's wait and see what the weather conditions are like. If it's pouring rain or snowing, or if there's a lot of snow on the ground I'm not interested in riding.

John

John

 

[Dizo]

I ride because I enjoy it, not because I need it ...

John

I ride because I need it; it really is too much not to ride for more than a day here or there. I need it because I enjoy it so much. Last year I managed a whole 9 days without riding a bike (That was when I was on a pure street bike - sport) during the winter before I was overcome with urges and had to go get another year of insurance. I never even bothered to leave it a day without insurance this year, they just get to be too much to ignore. It seems pointless riding in the miserable weather, and I always think i'm not having fun, but it sure shows how much of a hoot I truly am having when I get off the bike and enter the civilized world.

Oh well.
-16 at the house this morning, 'not much fun', but the snow has melted up to ~2000' and the Cat Lake play area is clear enough for riding now!

 

[MtB]

+1 on that sentiment Oliver.
I ride because I need it as well, for the last 25 years I have barely skipped a few days and most years did not own a car. The time since my accident have been sheer hell, not able to ride for months at a time, having to trade in the sport bike, and finaly ending up buying a truck (feel like a traitor). Some of my best rides have been in adverse conditions, but for now even a minor slide may put an end to my riding days all together, so my compromise is not to ride if it is below 0deg. Hope to see you all Feb? March??
Mike

 

[Farp]

I ride because I need it; it really is too much not to ride for more than a day here or there.

+1 on that sentiment Oliver. I ride because I need it as well,

Just like you fellows there was a time when I used to need it too; but one day I had an epiphany. It happened when I was riding my bike on Fraser Street in the pouring rain and a truck barged through a stop sign right in front of me. There was absolutely no chance of stopping before I hit him so I locked up the rear wheel and layed it down hoping the bike would shield me from sliding under the truck. But the truck bumper caught the handlebar and whisked the bike out of the way and I slid under the truck right in front of the rear wheels. The truck was going maybe 15 miles an hour and I was looking at the wheels which were heading directly for me. I noticed an angle iron bracket just in front of the wheels and I managed to get my leg up in front of it. When the bracket hit my leg it spun me around and I was able to twist away from the wheels with the result that they buzzed down the entire side of my body and I walked away with nothing more than scrapes and bruises - and a hell of a change in attitude about riding a bike.

I decided that riding a bike meant enough to me that there was no way I would risk missing all the good riding days that lay before me because I died riding in crappy conditions. Ten years after that incident I had an almost identical crash on Knight Street, only this time it was with a Dodge Colt on dry pavement and I did a classic flying W over the bars, bounced off the hood and came to rest on the pavement on the other side of the car. This time I thought about my two sons, aged six and ten, thought about what life would be like for them without a father, and decided to take a break from motorcycling until they grew up.

Well I'm back into it now in a big way and I'm loving every minute of it. I don't know how many years of riding I've got left but I'm pretty damn sure I'll have more than I would if I routinely went out and rode in crappy weather. True, you can crash on a nice day, happens all the time, but there is a much higher probability that you'll crash in lousy weather when the streets have much less traction. And let's be honest here, street riding in pouring rain, or worse, snow, is just not that much fun. So, for me, less fun and higher risk means the bike stays in the garage on crappy days.

And that's my rant for today.

John

 

[Mollygrubber]

Well John, that's what I love about forums like this. Everybody's got something to share, and if you don't happen to agree with an opinion that's OK too, presumably you've got one of your own. I have learned not to immediately discount a dissenting opinion as much as I used to, and try to understand where it's origins are. I'll think about your response, as I ride every day (barring snow or threat of ice - that little available traction is a no-brainer), but I have to say I actually enjoy riding in most any conditions - except gridlock in brutal heat... that sucks.

My daily commute is only half an hour each way, so I never get that cold or wet now that I've gotten smart about spending money on good gear. Heated liners and gloves are the best! But the smartest money I spent was taking some advanced riding and safety courses, with more to come. I am a VERY different rider now than I was only a few years ago - and I've been street riding on and off for nearly 30 years. Like they say, I didn't get to be a good rider from all those years of experience riding, I just made the same mistakes and misjudgments every year for 30 years...

I totally agree with your stance on assessing risk and making an informed decision whether to go out or not. If it's not feasible, my wife drives me to work. However I do think that with professional training and reasonable caution, street riding in foul weather is safer than 99.9% of people think it is - and believe me, I have my share of people telling me I'm stupid. However they don't see me practicing cone patterns, emergency braking and panic swerves, nor do they really understand the fundamental risk management that motorcyclists - especially trained ones - do every second that they ride. I'm no expert, but I'm a hell of a lot safer than I was.

I guess I'm not trying to argue your point, as it makes complete sense for you based on your personal experience, and it keeps you safe. I just wanted to respond to your statement that honest people would agree that street riding in crap weather is no fun. Me, I look forward to my daily rides, rain or not.

My 2 ¢.

p.s. your old DR is currently in Mendoza, Argentina, preparing for the final leg to Ushuaia in Tierra del Fuego! Still doing great...

Apologies for the hijack...

 

[fox44]

I checked the weather for next week and it looks like monday and tuesday will be nice and not below freezing. Anyone want to ride? Maybe we could do that sylvester ride?

 

[Farp]

I guess I'm not trying to argue your point, as it makes complete sense for you based on your personal experience, and it keeps you safe. I just wanted to respond to your statement that honest people would agree that street riding in crap weather is no fun. Me, I look forward to my daily rides, rain or not.

Hey Molly, thanks for your input, and I agree with everything you said. It's very difficult to express your opinions in a forum and do it so well that you won't be misunderstood, and that's what happened with my statement re riding in the rain or snow. I didn't say that it was "no fun" I said that "street riding in pouring rain, or worse, snow, is just not that much fun" meaning that it is not as much fun as riding in good weather. I can see how what I said could be very easily misinterpreted - and for that mea culpa. But I'll back my statement up with the observation that very few, if any, motorcyclists hope that it will rain on the days that they go riding. Riding in crap weather might be more tolerable for some than others but I don't think anybody prefers it to riding on a sunny day. For me, and this is totally subjective, when it's pouring rain I'll take the car. Also, riding for a half and hour or so in the rain is one thing, riding four or five hours or more is quite another and a lot less tolerable.

One of my major objections to riding in wet weather is diminished visibility caused by the visor fogging on the inside and being smeared with water on the outside. I've tried various products to eliminate this problem and they've worked to varying degrees of satisfaction, but none of them provided an ideal fix so when trail riding I used to remove my goggles and take my chances with being poked in the eye by an overhanging twig. I recently bought a goggles fan at Gnarly Daves, and installed it on roll-off equipped goggles. This has been the best solution I've found so far and it's just about ideal.


Thanks for the update on my old DR650, that bike's really getting around.

.....................................................................

Fox44, I'd be up for doing that Sylvester ride on Tuesday. The snow will be crusty and difficult to ride through so we'll likely have to restrict ourselves to riding below the snow line, and I don't know how low that is. We'll just have to look and see, but there should be enough riding below the snow to make it worthwhile. Anybody else who wants to come please feel free to join us. If Tuesday is not open for you I could go Monday, but I prefer Tuesday. Wednesday would be okay too, although it looks like the weather will start to deteriorate by then.

John

 

[fox44]

Tuesday works for for me but im not picky if some one else wants to go monday instead.

Edit: looks like it has to be Tuesday for me, gotta work Monday

 

[Farp]

Tuesday works for for me but im not picky if some one else wants to go monday instead.

Edit: looks like it has to be Tuesday for me, gotta work Monday

Tuesday it is. If you're interested in joining us let us know, everyones welcome. We're gonna be riding some B trails so noobs on big bikes might find it kinda challenging.

John

 

[Farp]

How about we meet at the end of the pavement on Sylvester at 10:00AM?

John

 

[fox44]

Sounds good John, see you there.

 

[Farp]

Sounds good John, see you there.

I'll post here tomorrow at 8:00 to confirm one way or the other just in case something unexpected occurs, but I fully expect to be there.

John

 

[Farp]

I'll post here tomorrow at 8:00 to confirm one way or the other just in case something unexpected occurs, but I fully expect to be there.

John

I just looked at the weather forcast for tomorrow. It's changed; now there's a 40% chance of snow flurries in the morning and an 80% chance in the afternoon. I've ridden east Stave in similar conditions before and I swore I'd never do it again so if the forcast is correct I'm out. Be sure to check here tomorrow morning 'cause right now the ride is looking very iffy.

John

 

[McNutt]

Have a good ride guys. I had the bike out at Stave yesterday and the weather was great. Although the ground was mostly bare, it's slick. I had a slow speed "incident" after hitting a ice patch. We had a bit of a wait to get out at the days end, as they were airlifting a quadder out who slid off the FSR (which was quite slick) on a corner and went over a bridge into a creek. Have a safe ride.... Len

 

[Farp]

Have a good ride guys. I had the bike out at Stave yesterday and the weather was great. Although the ground was mostly bare, it's slick. I had a slow speed "incident" after hitting a ice patch. We had a bit of a wait to get out at the days end, as they were airlifting a quadder out who slid off the FSR (which was quite slick) on a corner and went over a bridge into a creek. Have a safe ride.... Len

Thanks, Len. How high can you get before the snow becomes impassible, and what are the conditions like on the single track and two track trails? Considering the air temperature, if there's any kind of precipitation tomorrow I'm gonna bail, especially with the ground frozen the way it is. If we get sleet or rain it will freeze on contact with the ground, and if it snows it will cover the ice patches so you won't know where they are. I don't have ice studs on my tires so staying home under those conditions is a no brainer.

John

 

[McNutt]

Thanks, Len. How high can you get before the snow becomes impassible, and what are the conditions like on the single track and two track trails? Considering the air temperature, if there's any kind of precipitation tomorrow I'm gonna bail, especially with the ground frozen the way it is. If we get sleet or rain it will freeze on contact with the ground, and if it snows it will cover the ice patches so you won't know where they are. I don't have ice studs on my tires so staying home under those conditions is a no brainer.

John

We just stayed on the east side of burma road, so never went up in the hills. The first hour or so was devoted to pulling out a buddy who broke through some ice and sunk his quad. He loaded up and went home to start some oil changes. Then I spent the next hour or so talking with someone with the same bike as me who has turned his 250 into a 351. He was nice enough to let me take it for a spin. The only trail we road was the quad trail beside the creek at the south flats. After following a quad to closely, I had no time to stop before hitting a big puddle. After falling on the ice and having my bars break the ice, the right side of my body including helmet and goggles were soaked. haha. my day was done. Glad I brought a change of clothes, chair, firewood and bevys. Around here there is just as much snow in my yard as 1500' in the hills, and no snow on the tree covered trails up to 2000'.

 

[fox44]

I think im out for today, weather looks ok for the trip out and I don't mind riding on the trails in some snow I just don't like the idea of riding home if the streets have snow on them. I checked the long term forecast and it "seems" like we will get some more clear weather this weekend and next week. I would be definitely in for a ride then.

 

[Farp]

I think im out for today, weather looks ok for the trip out and I don't mind riding on the trails in some snow I just don't like the idea of riding home if the streets have snow on them. I checked the long term forecast and it "seems" like we will get some more clear weather this weekend and next week. I would be definitely in for a ride then.

Totally agree with you Peter, that was gonna be my call too. There's a snow warning in effect for the greater Vancouver area today so heading out when it's this overcast doesn't make much sense.

John