Sub Zero Riding

[Yorick]

I didn't get my first car till I was about 30 so rode through many winters up in Bradistan. Brrr

But the coldest journey was on a visit to see my mum in Bradford in Feb 2000. Started snowing Sunday night and when I woke up it was a whiteout. I had to ride back to Milton Keynes, so wrapped up and set off. I thought by the time I was on the M1 the road would be clear. Wrong. Sitting snow and still couldn't go above 30 ish. Heavy snow and cold.
All the way home I had to pull into each services to rest and warm up. Just managed to get home before dark. About 7 hours to do 150 miles. That was a shit day

Aha. But

At one of the services I was queuing to pay for fuel with cold hands not doing well getting things out of my pockets. Brr.
As I walked away from the counter I heard a phone ring and somebody answered and shouted "Is there a Yorick anywhere here?" I'd left my phone on the counter. If it hadn't rang at that split second it would have been lost forever.

It was an agency offering me a 15 months contract in Leeds starting the following Monday. It had been brought forward a month and were ringing folk in skilled order and taking first come first served. I agreed there and then which made the rest of the journey bearable. That contract changed my life dramatically as wasn't long after my wife's death and I was still low. I invested all my earnings wisely and was the first HUGE step to early retirement

So the lad that answered my phone helped shape my life.

[DefTrap]

I have to say, since I've not needed to commute any more (and not decided to ride on a sunny down and been caught out in a dramatic weather change) that I've not even ridden in the rain - let alone, cold, ice, fog, dark ....

[Mr. Dazzle]

Icing up clothing is unpleasant, that's for sure.

[Skub]

I did my car test when I was 30 and that was the end of obligatory riding in all weathers. Snow,fog and ice riding is horrible,I don't miss it at all,nor do I want to live up to the Billy Big Balls mindset of being a 'proper biker'.

The council salted the roads here last night,that's me done until they stop slathering that gunk about.

[Horse]

That contract changed my life dramatically as wasn't long after my wife's death and I was still low. I invested all my earnings wisely and was the first HUGE step to early retirement

So the lad that answered my phone helped shape my life.

Ace!

Every blizzard has a silver lining

[Dickyboy]

Just remembered that I passed my test during a freak snow fall in April, examiner let me off the slithering about during emergency stop too

[The Spin Doctor]

It seems that those vehicles with thermometers give a slippery road warning at 4c and while 4c in itself doesn't mean ice...

Word of warning... that's not actually true since your in-vehicle thermometer is reading AIR temperature and ground temp can be as much as 8c LOWER than air temp...

That's the difference between the terms you can hear on the forecast - air frost (when air is freezing or below) and ground frost (which can occur even though air temps are above zero) so it is quite possible to find ice on the road when the alarm's sounding. I suspect it's been set at 4c precisely because that's the point at which ground temp could easily be 0.

And yes... I was a blood runner for several years... the coldest ride was an early January night when temps in Kent dipped to around -8c and I was out from 3am to 6, covering around 150 miles. The only way I survived that was with my heated Gerbing waistcoat. I spun the rear wheel up on black ice coming back through Maidstone on the final leg home. I only realised it was black ice after two 'missed gear changes'. I was very lucky indeed that I was upright. After that, I took the van!

[Mr. Dazzle]

My Volvo did it at 5°C, the BM did 3°C. I suspect Spin is correct.

[Taipan]

I didn't get my first car till I was about 30 so rode through many winters up in Bradistan. Brrr

But the coldest journey was on a visit to see my mum in Bradford in Feb 2000. Started snowing Sunday night and when I woke up it was a whiteout. I had to ride back to Milton Keynes, so wrapped up and set off. I thought by the time I was on the M1 the road would be clear. Wrong. Sitting snow and still couldn't go above 30 ish. Heavy snow and cold.
All the way home I had to pull into each services to rest and warm up. Just managed to get home before dark. About 7 hours to do 150 miles. That was a shit day

Aha. But

At one of the services I was queuing to pay for fuel with cold hands not doing well getting things out of my pockets. Brr.
As I walked away from the counter I heard a phone ring and somebody answered and shouted "Is there a Yorick anywhere here?" I'd left my phone on the counter. If it hadn't rang at that split second it would have been lost forever.

It was an agency offering me a 15 months contract in Leeds starting the following Monday. It had been brought forward a month and were ringing folk in skilled order and taking first come first served. I agreed there and then which made the rest of the journey bearable. That contract changed my life dramatically as wasn't long after my wife's death and I was still low. I invested all my earnings wisely and was the first HUGE step to early retirement

So the lad that answered my phone helped shape my life.

OMG! That was me! I remember thinking how odd to be called Yorick. Anyway shall I pm you my bank details? I'm sure you'll want to bung me a decent drink!

[Count Steer]

My Volvo did it at 5°C, the BM did 3°C. I suspect Spin is correct.

Mine gave a warning today when I started it up. 3°C 'Road may be icy'. It was a tad parky (but it has been a beaut of a day though ).

[Le_Fromage_Grande]

I past my car test at 20, I haven't been an all weather rider since, even a £100 Hillman Imp was better than getting cold and wet

[Yorick]

When I got the contract in Leeds I rented my dad's house for a token amount.
Parking in Leeds was stupid price and half a mile walk to the office.
My accountant suggested getting a company bike ( I was a Ltd Co. ) so a new GSXR1000 was bought.
Now I could park under the offices in the directors car park.

It was a 7 mile commute so my accountant told me to buy some warm gear for the winter commute through the books.
Roasty toasty even in Leeds' coldest moments.

The guys I worked with turned up freezing after their enforced long hike.
I got to work warm, changed downstairs and arrived in the office lovely and warm

[Gregor]

I love riding or driving in the snow but on decent tyres obs.

I got caught out riding to work one morning, luckily on the tenere with TKC80s fitted, lovely fine weather when I left home, halfway to work and a real blizzard set in, complete white out, forcing me and everyone else to stop and wait it out.
I carried on like a silly fucker as I-was closer to work than home and there were no more big hills on the way.
Had to do it all again when work shut early because none of the patients could get there

We hardly ever get decent snow in Kent but I love a chance to get out greenlaning on snow.





Unless it’s icy



Wish I still had this old shitbox

[ZRX61]

Too many when I was younger, bike was my only transport and used it for commuting.

Worst was going out to work as normal at my bar job at 6pm, totally clear, albeit very cold.
Snow comes down and by the time I leave its fresh and thick on the roads. Turning and braking really difficult, the only good thing being that I'm literally the only one stupid enough to try it. This was central Cambridge. Couple of hours to do less than 10 miles but didn't fall off

Which pub?

[ChrisW]

Wish I still had this old shitbox

Fourtrak! I used to have one of its predecessors - also utterly brilliant in the snow.

[DefTrap]

Which pub?

QH in Newton (south of town), so coming back into town from the South, town centre, then north of town to either Arbury or Waterbeach (can't recall where I was living at the time but definitely North)

[ZRX61]

Ah, not familiar with the establishment. My boozers were the Golden Hind, Pike & Eel (when I lived in Chesterton), KSR, Boat Race. Camb Arms, Salisbury, Alma, Hopbine (before the upgrades etc), Zebra, Fort St George & sometimes the student bars at Kings & Jesus..
& the Locomotive, home of the Locomotive MCC which pretty much became a bicycle/pedestrian club owing to the amount of DUI's among the members..

[Skub]

Great pic man.

[Bigyin]

When i was a yoof i always used to ride in the snow on 125's as it was a bit of a laugh and falling off didnt matter. As i grew older it became less of a hoot picking up heavier and bigger bikes when the snow would come down every year, The joys of living in Scotland i guess. I was also working as a courier on the bikes for a while and had ridden across the A66 Trans Pennine pass on my way south and arriving at Scotch Corner i was so cold i couldnt even remove my gloves to undo the helmet strap. A bloke getting out of his car took pity on me and helped me as his wife bought me a cuppa to thaw out.

Once i moved to the tropical south the weather hasnt been as bad but every now and again we get the cold stuff. A few years ago i only had the bike for all year round commuting so the winter riding needed doing. At the time my only bike was the first Multistrada i had so it was coated in ACF 50 and used all year

I recall riding in one day with 0 deg showing on the dash for the 30 mile trip and arriving at a failry empty office car park about 0730 and seeing a woman walking across go arse over tit as i was about to stop and put my foot down. Realising it was completely frozen i didnt stop and continued across, bumped up the kerb and stopped on the frozen grassed area where my boots at least wouldnt slide out under me. Being warmly wrapped up and with cold hands i didnt realise how bad the untreated surfaces would be. doh



It had heated grips fitted as standard on the particular model i owned but the huge difference was the bar muffs. Not pretty but bloody effective at keeping the hands warm and dry in sub zero conditions



We complain about the weather here, this is Norway in fecking June while riding over one of the mountain passes which had been opened just a couple of weeks before. We hit loads of slush and melting snow on some of the high bits yet it was 20 something degrees down in the lower sunny fjords

[Taipan]

Great pic man.

Agreed. Should be in the Great Bike Pics thread!