How often do you stop along the road to look. To see. I ride a lot but I look a lot too. The fog hanging over the hills, the color of the leaves in the early morning light, the puddles of water that glow at my feet. It’s quiet and I’m the only one stirring.
There’s too much to see (and photograph) and experience for me to stop riding when it gets cold. While many, if not most, riders hand up their jacket when the thermometer dips below 60F, or worse, because the calendar page turns to September and a programmed response occurs to drain fuel and get out the Battery Tender. With a little work a rider can question all the missives about motorcycles and cold weather and perhaps find new magic a cold day.
Let’s get the most important point out of the way first — with cold weather riding comes more risk. Risk of falling due to loss of traction for all kinds of reasons, risk of bad decision making due to being cold, and generally a risk related to applying all those warm weather skills and habits to an environment that is genuinely different.
All of these things can be managed IF you accept them. And take steps to deal with them.
This past Sunday morning was the first cold day of the riding season for me when I rolled out of bed and saw the temperature was 31F. As much as I ride in cold weather you would think this is all automatic, that I would have a pilot checklist in my head, or better yet on paper. But I don’t.
I’m not an organized man. Yet.
While Junior is munching his Purina Pro Plan I’m thinking about riding gear, whether I need the electric gloves for the short ride I plan, time for the ski mask yet. In general I’m trying to remember what 31F feels like.
By the time I’m on the road the temperature indicator on the Vespa says 33F. I don’t know how accurate it is but I do know from experience that the temperature changes drastically in the area as cold air flows in rivers from the mountains down through the valleys. You can feel it change as the air flows through your helmet or seeps inside your riding gear to touch unprotected skin. On mornings like this you have to accept the possibility of ice and adjust your attitude and riding style accordingly.
If you have only one riding style, or if you don’t understand why the possibility of ice requires an adjustment, or if you are adherent to the “I ride the way I want and let the world stay out of my way” style of riding, well perhaps you shouldn’t rush right out in cold weather. Not until you have some time to re-evaluate things a bit.
There is a lot of water flowing around this part of Pennsylvania and in many instances it flows across the road creating hazards for cars and nightmares for motorcycle and scooter riders. The Commonwealth does a good job with signs for a lot of known occurrences of water on the road but they can’t sign them all. That leaves each of us with some decisions — park the bike for the duration, or learn how to manage this stuff. And assume the heightened risk that you may miss something and you will need to know how to respond to the sudden appearance of ice on the road.
I simple terms it means slowing down, particularly on curves so that you have enough time to stop within you visual range of sight. Most riders don’t know how slow this actually is on little country roads. I only lean hard when I can see a long way off when the temperature is near or below freezing.
And you have to remember that even on absolutely dry roads the low temperature affects your tires and the amount of friction available to keep the machine tracking along nicely. Straight lines aren’t much of a problem unless you need to stop fast and you find out your summer stopping distance computer between your ears doesn’t apply to these new circumstances.
And if you are under dressed, teeth chattering, hands numb, and the response time from seeing a hazard, convincing your body to move, and then actually executing a maneuver has diminished, well, that’s not a good thing either.
All of these things can be managed. Takes some thought, some humility, and ultimately desire. And desire is the fuel that keeps me going.
I keep riding because I love the experience, the sights, the places that appear on the road. My Sunday morning trip into town is long enough for me to get lost in the magic of the ride — present, aware, mindful. Almost a spiritual place.
Stopping on another gravel road to watch the sun rising over the fields and being happy to be alive and walking on the earth. It’s a simple feeling but one that isn’t easily gained.
Every rider is different but I particularly relish the transition from cold to warmth, in this instance a cup of hot cocoa in a warm cafe. I’m not sure why but when I repeat this simple trip in a car I don’t stop, don’t see much, and just wolf down the cocoa. If I even stop to have it.
There’s no magic in a car ride.
As my hands start to warm and I’m sitting at the table staring at a bagel it seems special. Special enough to make a photograph and important enough to share here.
There are a lot of cold days where the road is dry save for those places where it isn’t. It’s worth it for me to learn how to deal with the cold and keep riding. On some days it takes work for me to get my head around it all but when I do I am pleased with the results.
It’s won’t be too much longer until I put the winter tires on the Vespa.
Steve:
On the coast we have a humid cold rather than a dry cold. When temps get down to around 2°c we get ice/frost on the roads. It takes a few hours for it melt away when our temps warm up but then at night it goes below the dew point and the roads are coated with condensation again creating ice/frost in the morning. I don’t worry about the cold, but I worry about the ice. Marine fog also condenses on our roads and turns to ice on contact with the frozen ground.
bob
Riding the Wet Coast
Ice is the bane of cold weather riding. The right kind of snow can be handled and even be fun, but ice . . . I suppose studded tires would work, but I have no experience with these.
I too ride when it is cold. I say it is because I’m from Michigan, but it isn’t that. It is the challenge of it. The challenge of having and choosing the correct gear. It is the challenge of riding safely under hostile conditions. Keeping my hands warm has been a big challenge. This week I’m having heated grips put on the Symba. I’m excited, but a part of me feels like I selling out. Oh well.
Thanks for the share.
Steve,
I am new to 2 wheeling with owning a 50cc scoot and a 450 motorcycle. I started out my scooter life at the end of January this year and it was damp and cold. I am figuring out what I need to wear and that layering is key. I was also very cognizant of the ice/frost, in January anything can happen here living on Vancouver Island. We can have warm almost balmy temps one day and the freezing cold with rain or snow the next during the winter.
Its funny when I started scootering I never even thought about the cold, I only noticed it when I became almost hypothermic when out learning to ride. A few times I can me home and was sol cold it took forever to warm up. I am enjoying the brisk days and the change in the scenery. I too stop more often, take pictures and soak in all the sights and smells around me. I particularly enjoy the aroma of wood from fireplaces. The light is different also almost liquidy and pale. The only bad part of winter here is the dampness, it seems to sneak in no matter what you do. I think it is time for a heated vest and gloves. I am hoping to ride my scoot for as much of the winter as i can. My insurance is up on the motorcycle in early December, so I am going to take it as it comes. I have a healthy respect for old man winter and what he brings and will treat my riding in that same manner, with caution and with joy.
Great post! I currently don’t even have the gear to deal with the weather on days when the temperature is below freezing. On those days, I get a ride to work.
Eventually, though, I’ll live somewhere that gets cold, and I imagine I’ll still want to ride all year.
It never occurred to me that cold temperatures would have an impact on my traction (apart from icy conditions), but it makes sense. Good to know for the next time I head uphill and forget that it’s a lot colder up there than it is down here.
You have a wonderful blog. Where have I been all your life? I have a little blog that covers my life in Wisconsin, sometimes on a scooter: livingamongtourists.blogspot.com.
I bought a Honda Met this spring and it brought back the magic of my childhood rides with my father on his red Vespa. I’m 90 lbs, 5′, so I have to be careful how heavy my next scooter will be. I used to ride horses, but I never had to push them uphill.
Steve:
I too love the magic of riding in cold weather. Granted you have more to deal with up there. I always get a kick out of seeing the face of fair weather riders when I’m one of only a very few people still riding in the dead of winter. Great advice on what to prepare for.
Ronman
Good post as always!
Hi Steve,
I was lucky enough to find your blog while searching for LX150 reviews. I was looking to buy one and now my decision is final. I’ll be on the waiting list till January 2012 though, it’s selling fast out here and supplies can’t keep up. Should be worth the wait 🙂
keep up the good work and regards from Indonesia!
-Riz
A great topic and one that, surprisingly, hits close to home. Though we already have a few inches of snow and snow on top of ice on the roads now. It seems that there are some that use car studs on their bike tires with great success though I’m thinking that their riding ability far exceeds my own. For me, the ice on the road is the issue not the temperature. Here, we are blessed with a very low humidity and it’s fairly straight forward to dress for very cold temperatures.
After all these years, I am still amazed that people are amazed that I ride my scooter in the rain, or in temps below 60°F. And I live in the land of REI, the premiere purveyor of cold- and foul-weather clothing, and Eddie Bauer, which used to be.
But bobskoot makes a good point: as I write this, the Weather Channel app on my iPhone pegs the relative humidity at 83%, which makes the 43°F temperature feel like it’s well below zero. While I am able to dress for such conditions, I’m not ashamed to admit there are times I just don’t feel like taking the time and effort. Especially since I have a car with a really good heater…
__Orin
Scootin’ Old Skool
Steve,
Nice post. Your sentiment on cold weather are not widespread – particularly in Virginia. When I would ride my Honda to work in the winter there my coworkers looked at me like I had brain lesions. Gear does make all the difference. Oh, and the nice thing was that ice, any ice, closed the school where I worked. It was brilliant.
Brady
Behind Bars – Motorcycles and Life
Hi Steve, First off, thank yor for all the work you put into this blog. Its a joy to read. I have been following for a couple months now as I am closet scooter fan. One of the things I love about your blog is the photos of your scooter. But I have to say the addition of the top box seems to take away from the athletic, nice lines of the scoot. Not sure if its just me. I am sure that it is very functional though. Just a thought.
Thanks again,
Dan
Steve,
Do you have a recommendation or two about which snow tires, or all-weather tires, are appropriate for my GTS 250?
bobskoot: We had that kind of weather this morning with ice on the roads. Fortunately I needed the van at work today so the Vespa stayed in the garage. Otherwise I would have probably ventured forth to test my skills.
Will be riding later today after the temperature rises into the 40s to exchange the Vespa for a new Triumph Tiger XC. Just for the weekend.
Circle Blue: Ice is no fun. I certainly have dealt with it during past winters. It’s manageable when you know where it is. It’s the unexpected ice that’s a problem.
I have the same hand problems you do. Even with electric gloves my hands can get cold. I resisted selling out for a long time. Now I have a sign on my back that says SOLD when it comes to keeping my hands warm.
Dar: I think there is a big range of tolerance for cold among riders. Each of us has to figure out what we need to stay comfortable and safe. I need a lot of gear but I know others who seem impervious to the cold and can ride with nearly the same stuff they wear in the summer.
Be safe and careful as the cold weather arrives.
Lucky: Long time no see.
I have the gear to deal with sub-freezing temps but not always the desire. I must be getting old.
Last time I checked your blog the Triumph was under the weather and you were having to ride the Vespa. Seems like some things are right in the world!
Tiny Puppetmaster: Thank you for the nice words about Scooter in the Sticks.
Seeing the world on a scooter is definitely different than a car, or a horse I suspect though my horse experience is slight and limited mostly to pony rides at amusement parks on animals called Thunder and Diablo.
Your blogs are remarkable. Especially Edgar Bickley’s Script. How did that project come to life?
Ronman: Winter isn’t far off now. Snow has entered the common vocabulary again here.
Sergei: Thank you. I have to admit every time I visit your blog I am blown away by the photography. And it makes me want to drag the DSLR around for pictures rather than the little point and shoot I use for most of my pictures.
Riz: Glad I could help steer you towards a purchase. Let us know how things work out when you take possession!
RichardM: You are in a whole different world of weather in Alaska. I just assumed you put the BMW away and hooked up the dogs.
Orin: I love car heaters. It is as close as I can come to sitting next to a nice hot wood stove. One of my secret pleasures is to blast the heat from the car and just bake.
Can’t get that on the Vespa in winter unless I grasp the muffler…
Brady: In Virginia I imagine they believe cold weather is the doing of northern aggressors. That’s why schools close when there’s ice. Just being prepared for attack or something.
Dan: You’re right about the topbox adversely affecting the aesthetic quality of the Vespa. I resisted for a long time but finally utility demands forced me to one.
So I pretend it isn’t there in the pictures.
Thanks for the kind words about the blog. I appreciate it.
Thomas Keene: I bought a pair of Heidenau K66 LT SnowTex tires last winter for the Vespa. Amazing difference in traction in general and in slush and wet stuff in particular. Not much help on ice and just a bit better on hardpack snow.
But I won’t go without them anymore in the winter. Careful if you get them when you first start to ride. They perform more sluggishly in turns so you need to make some adjustments.
Here are a couple links:
http://www.moto-amore.com/heidenau/new/snowtexnew.html
http://www.moto-amore.com/heidenau/new/snowtexnew.html
Hi Steve,
Thank You for the newest Cold Weather reminder issue. I notice from your photos your trees still have foliage/leaves. During fall in (northern) New England, the phrase:”Watch Out for Wet Leaves” is used by both (4 wheel) motorists and those of us who still venture out on Two wheels. On Halloween morning we got hit with 5-8″ of snow here in the NH/Vermont Upper Valley. That, on top of downed leaves in curves on our “rural” roads that foliage is not cut back away from is one added factor. It’s always good to get your “Cold Weather Reminder” issue, and to read the commentary. The California coastal rider who noted the Marine Fog factor, that’s valid on the East Coast, too! Since you’ve ridden in Maine (on vacation), and probably passed through Coastal New Hampshire to get there, you may be qualified to expound on that theme too! Thanks for the timely reminders!
I neglected to mention one added factor to remember in Cold weather riding in Northern New England. It actually applies year round, but the problem worsens in cold weather: “Frost Heaves”! I rode out U.S. 4 to Queeche, Vermont this afternoon. The lateral (parallel to the direction of the road)Frost Heaves are a factor in any weather, but moreso, when there’s snow/ice on them. If tires are cold so the “contact patch” of the tire isn’t as large, manuvering in those “paved Ruts” can be a challenge.
The comment from RIC in Indonesia reminded me of a Vespa kept a few miles from me, that was ridden from Lebanon, NH, to La Paz, Bolivia and back. If anyone has any cold weather guidance about the Pan American Highway, and/or roads through the Andes Mountains, I’d be glad to read them!
Well done. Not only are you a photographic artist but an artistic wordsmith, as well.
I appreciate this comment:
“If you have only one riding style, or if you don’t understand why the possibility of ice requires an adjustment, or if you are adherent to the “I ride the way I want and let the world stay out of my way” style of riding, well perhaps you shouldn’t rush right out in cold weather. Not until you have some time to re-evaluate things a bit.”
As riders we need to be rigidly flexible.
Your motivation is interesting. In my case I’m not much for stopping along the way much. I guess I ride in the cold partly to be stubborn. It’s like I can’t let the elements defeat me. So having an attitude of humility like you write about may rule me out.
In a surprising sign of becoming a bit more mellow as the years go by, I had some intersting thoughts early yesterday morning.
Hours before dawn found me climbing a pass in the Cascade Mountains on Elvira. It was barely above freezing when I departed. Once past the three thousand foot mark the temperature had dropped to 27. There was freezing fog and ice on the road. Thankfully there was some variety as I neared the 4815 foot summit. The freezing fog had changed to a light snowfall.
Here’s the point. A question came into my brain.
Why the heck am I doing this?
Not one of the usual thoughts. Probably ought to spend some time pondering it.
Again, what a great post!
In winter season we should try to keep our body warm, safe and dry. There is no problem in car but scooter is open we should be very careful like we should wear helmet, gloves and jacket etc.
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scooter