Coldest Ride, 2020-2021 Winter

[paulcb]

I've had three days of 39° and rain for my commute. Took the car one day, but enjoyed my 'lectrics the other two days.

 

[the Ferret]

Tomorrow it's supposed to rain heavily all day due to effects of tropical storm Zeta. Going to be tough to get up the gumption to go out, but I haven't missed a day of riding yet to rain, ...so

To me some of the most miserable riding is when it's in the 40's and 50's and raining.

 

[Obo]

35F this morning.
Trying out the new rear T31 tire, F2 headlight bulbs and switchback turn signals. The lights really need to be used in the darkness to be judged

Heated grips were on with my Summer gloves and the heated seat was off. Grips started on high to get warmed up and by the end were on low.
HD heated jacket liner was on in place of my normal Tourmaster unheated jacket liner and I had my neck gaiter on.
The jacket liner didn't really seem to make a difference but I'm sure it helped.

Joys of Canadian weather is it allows us to get a leg up on the lowest temp rides vs some of you others in more tropical weather areas to the South.

 

[caldercay]

Joys of Canadian weather is it allows us to get a leg up on the lowest temp rides vs some of you others in more tropical weather areas to the South.

Don't get too joyous... it actually dropped to 38°F early this AM here in south Texas (yea, I'm shocked too, as it's still Oct)

 

[rjs987]

And I also note many winters here in central Iowa can sometimes get colder than either the east or west coasts of Canada. Usually due to a polar vortex coming down through central Canada and bulging into the north central MidWest with the lower end of the bulge moving through all of Iowa. At that time there is usually a lot of snow up north but not always here.

 

[jmgatlin]

…sadly, for me, once the snow starts to fly I'm generally out of the running… unless I finally purchase a more ice & snow friendly motorcycle!!

So, if I were to get something I could ride throughout the winter…what would you all recommend?

 

[paulcb]

So, if I were to get something I could ride throughout the winter…what would you all recommend?

I don't have any recommendations, but I believe @mudduc uses a WR250, outfitted appropriately. Depends if you're just riding around town, or going distances.

 

[TipSTer]

Don't get too joyous... it actually dropped to 38°F early this AM here in south Texas (yea, I'm shocked too, as it's still Oct)

I ride YZ250F on ice.

 

[Pop-Pop]

1. 24° jmgatlin
2. 28° mudduc
3. 29° white_witch
4. 30° rjs987
5. 35° sirbike
6. 35° Obo
7. 36° paulcb
8. 39° Flatbroke
9. 45° etalors

It's starting to cool down, so we'll start this little game up again. Same rules as before... just post the lowest temp you've ridden in for more than 15 miles for the 2020-2021 winter. Extra details would be nice, but not required, i.e. gear worn, where you went, etc. We're on the Honor System, so no wind chill, no handicap and no participation trophies! Don't hesitate to correct me if I miss someone or make a mistake. I'll update this first post with the names and temps of the top 10, as they are generated.

All temps in Fahrenheit.

29 deg in pagosa springs. Thick gloves and layers. It was nice!

 

[Daboo]

35F last Sunday on the way to church.

Chris

 

[STraymond]

Any route planning app that can show pavement temperatures along the way?

 

[paulcb]

Any route planning app that can show pavement temperatures along the way?

inRoute will do it. My Zumo 396 will do it as well... it pulls the data via Garmin's Smart Link app on my phone. Those Weather and Traffic features require a 1-time $5 purchase. Saved my bacon a couple weeks ago during the Heart of Texas rally when it offered to re-route me around a 45 minute backup in Waco, TX.

 

[caldercay]

a 45 minute backup in Waco, TX.

Probably folks waiting to get into George's : )

 

[rjs987]

Our state DOT web site will show bridge deck and road surface temps in certain places around the state. I usually refer to that before going out to ride during colder months if there is a chance of moisture on the roads.

 

[Daboo]

Any route planning app that can show pavement temperatures along the way?

Washington State has this website for road temperatures. https://www.wsdot.com/traffic/roadtemps/ There's another that actually shows a sideways view of the passes and the temperatures along the way up and down.

Morecast is a good travel weather forecast website. https://morecast.com/en/plan-your-route You enter where you're headed and when you're leaving, and it'll give you the weather forecast along the route for the estimated time you'll be there. It won't tell you the pavement temp though.


The National Weather Service has another website that'll give you what they call a Travel Hazard forecast. It's very customizable. https://preview.weather.gov/edd/

 

[paulcb]

Probably folks waiting to get into George's : )

I heard it was a wreck in a construction zone on I35, quite the mess. It routed me through downtown, which was also under construction, but much faster than I35.

What is this George's you speak of?

 

[caldercay]

What is this George's you speak of?

Waco, TX

To most, Waco is a highway. Nothing more. A pass-through, not a destination. But to those who are willing to look a little deeper, Waco is much, much more. FOOD Kick your day off with a caffeine jolt to the mouth at Common Grounds, a locally-owned coffee shop. Common Grounds has all forms of c

thedaytripper.com

George’s is a Waco classic that’s been serving massive burgers and chicken fried steaks to Baylor bears since 1930. Stop in to relax like a local after a day of trippin’ with an 18 oz. frosty beer (called a “Big O”) and a plate of chicken wings wrapped in bacon.

 

[paulcb]

Waco, TX

To most, Waco is a highway. Nothing more. A pass-through, not a destination. But to those who are willing to look a little deeper, Waco is much, much more. FOOD Kick your day off with a caffeine jolt to the mouth at Common Grounds, a locally-owned coffee shop. Common Grounds has all forms of c

thedaytripper.com

George’s is a Waco classic that’s been serving massive burgers and chicken fried steaks to Baylor bears since 1930. Stop in to relax like a local after a day of trippin’ with an 18 oz. frosty beer (called a “Big O”) and a plate of chicken wings wrapped in bacon.

Thanks.

 

[mudduc]

I don't have any recommendations, but I believe @mudduc uses a WR250, outfitted appropriately. Depends if you're just riding around town, or going distances.

My 2008 WR250R gave me 54,000 miles over 6 winters before I sold it for $1500.
My 2015 WR250R was at 20,244 when I sold it for $2000. Not going to need a commuting machine for this winter or (probably) next. I'll replace my bad-weather/winter ride when next I need one.

I had hook up for heated gloves, jacket, pants but found I never used it. Only when it got less than 0F would I need anything and then only the gloves. Everything else stayed warm enough with just a few layers of good gear (Klim outers, mids and thermal undies for under zero).

I put Oxford heated grips on the 2015 and found that I much preferred the heated grips over needing to plug in gloves. With my well insulated snowmobile gloves (Klim), glove liners and heated grips, I was fine down to -10F comfortably and -20F with tailorable pain towards the end of my 30 minute commute. This was a surprise to me as I formerly felt just having my palms on the heat wasn't good enough for really code and a way to keep the back of my hands warmed (heated glove liners) was required. But, with the bark-busters to keep off the wind and with well insulated gloves, the Oxford grips would heat things up well enough to do without plugging in the gloves.

Didn't ride when snow was forecast. Waited for roads to be clear and warmed up by a few days of sun after any snow. Made sure the wheels were inline and not leaning when crossing bridge shadows. Did _NOT_ ride in the dark when temps were below 30F. Still got caught out with snow accumulating a few times and usually survived by following the car tire tracks so they would clear and pressure-melt the snow. The 4 or 5 times I tossed the WR250 on snow or ice over my 70,000 miles of winter riding wasn't a big deal as it's easy to pick up the WR and keep going. Never hit another vehicle or broken anything but luck had too much to do with the OK outcome on a couple of the incidents. Not wanting to rely on luck, I modified some behaviors. For example, I now say off the freeway when under 10F and stick to surface roads with 40mph speed limits.

Tires are just Bridgestone TW302 Trail Wings. They stick well in cold and wet but nothing can handle accumulating snow. Once the tread is all packed with snow, you are running snow wheels on snow roads and can't go anywhere at any speed without spinning out. Studded tires for fun on iced over lakes. Rubber tires for traction on pavement. Nothing appropriate for accumulating snow. Studs have no traction on pavement and get dulled so they can't grab ice either. The Trail Wings do fine on cold pavement or hard-packed snow.

Later,
Kent Larson in Minnesota

 

[Willsmotorcycle]

Thought I would no just be a lurker. Cold part was I forgot to check the fuse on the heated gear. Turned it on after the gas stop and well, you guessed it, no heat. Brrrr