| Author | Message | ||
     Mattmcc00 |
Well guys time for me to hang-up my CycleKeys for the season. Got a cm or two of snow last night.  Don't get me wrong Canada's an ok place but Jacques-Cartier really crapped out a brain fart when he planted his flag in Gaspesie!!! DUDE!! Winters brutal here, and you can't ride your bike! Should've planted his bloody flag in a Carolina or something.... Oh wait how about Houston!  We could have a bunch on wealth french cowboys in Texas lol! hmmm... not sure that would be a good thing. But seriously what I wouldn't give to be able to ride year round. Instead of mucking around in the snow with my nose dripping from my monthly cold.  Feels good to vent, thx all. | ||
| Froggy |
Its snowed twice so far where I am in NY, roads are still fine for riding | ||
| Hughlysses |
I saw a good tip/trick the other day about converting bicycle tires to snow tires by putting big zip-ties around the wheel/tire every inch or so. I guess that'd work for a motorcycle, but it wouldn't do much for your "lateral" traction. I saw a thread on ADVrider once where a guy did a "fly and ride" somewhere to the mid-west to pickup a dual-sport bike. It was a several-day ride back for him. After his first night in a hotel he came out to find ~1 inch of frozen sleet on the ground. He walked over to the nearest hardware store, bought a cheap electric drill and some hex bits, and a box of small, short hex-head sheet metal screws. He spent the next couple of hours driving sheet metal screws into the knobs of the tires. Instant studded motorcycle tires! He continued his trip and made it home on time. Where there's a will, there's a way!  | ||
| Motorbike |
Where there's a drill, there's a way!  | ||
| Buewulf |
Oh wait how about Houston! That is where I live now, and I pretty much hang up the keys from mid-May to mid-September. Brutally hot. Western Colorado was nice. It can be cold in the winter, but road conditions were usually very good so long as you didn't venture too far up into the mountains. | ||
| Mattmcc00 |
Ahhh Colorado. I really have to go visit some day. Seems like a nice place, Only thing missing would be access to the Ocean. I am a technical diver after all. Utah as well seems like a great place to live for a motorcyclist (dunno about all those Mormons though.... little scary). Lots of great places to ride in the US, you folks are really lucky concerning this. In Canada you can pretty much span the entire country from ocean to ocean and other that the looooooong patch in the prairies and a bumpy bit on the BC/Alberta border its pretty much the same thing coast to coast. Although that bumpy bit really is a nice bit  . Our motorcylcle trips usualy start with "ok lets meet-up in the finger lakes (NY) and we'll decide where we want to go from there." Too hot to ride really? Is it heat related or humidity? ... or both? Humidity can be a real drag, no fun riding when your soaking down your back into your underwear, I get that. As an ATGATT diver, I transferred the concept to riding so I get it. | ||
| Buellerxt |
I'm in the Houston area as well, Mattmcc, and I ride all year, as most do. Sure it gets hot, and humid, but it does that in a LOT of places, and it's beautiful riding if you stay hydrated. I also wear full mesh! I appreciate your kind comments on the U.S. I have to agree with you, but I'll say that one of our more memorable trips of late was a great trip to Nova Scotia. Very nice! Sorry about the hibernation but tuck that rascal in, check on it occasionally, and before you know it you'll be riding again! (Message edited by buellerxt on November 29, 2012) | ||
| Fltwistygirl |
Here in the swamps of central Florida near Mickey and Minnie, we have year round riding, but the summers are brutally hot. Also, traffic is bad, roads are mostly boring and the economy sucks. I've had the fortune to escape for a few weeks each summer to ride and teach and visit with family and friends in lovely Minnesota to get a break from the heat. After venturing further west and riding for the first time in Colorado this summer, I think I would gladly sacrifice a few weeks of riding for having the rockies in my back yard, a livelier economy than Florida, more and varied outdoor activities. It's all a series of trade offs. For me, living in a vibrant environment like Colorados sounds pretty good. | ||
| Mattmcc00 |
yup gotta agree that whole area seams rife with just the most amazing areas to discover. Deserts, plains, mountains, canyons, salt flats, forests, you name it that whole Colorado, Utah, Arizona area is like land of a 1001 best rides. I got a small taste of it this spring when i flew to LA and rented a KTM 990 Adventure (But got a Honda ST1300 instead GRRRR! and had to change my week long offroade trip into a highway trip). Rode the 1 from LA to SF. Then turned inland to Napa/Sonoma upto Yosemite (where I had to comeback down because the pass to Nevade at 10,000ft had 10ft of snow and a 4x4 only warning, it was March after all). Then down the center to a small pass to Death Valley and into Nevada. Then Mojave, Jashua tree, and back to LA. | ||
| Mattmcc00 |
Re:Nova scotia I hope you had a chance to go to Cape Breton Island (thats a great ride). And If you ever want to find yourself somewhere really different try Newfoundland. It's like riding in the Scottish fjords. Without having to cross that pesky ocean. Problem though is that these places are so far it needs major planning, time, and money. | ||
| Buewulf |
Too hot to ride really? Is it heat related or humidity? ... or both? Both the heat and the humidity are bad, and I'd say the humidity is the bigger drag of the two. But honestly it is semi-tolerable so long as you can stay at highway speeds and wear full mesh as BuellerXT said. I just stop commuting during those months as I sometimes get stuck in some pretty slow traffic. I like riding in Colorado more than anywhere else, and I did ride all year round when I lived there. Utah is great as well, and the Mormons are a nice bunch. My brother lives in the SLC area, so I get up there a few times a year. | ||
| Skifastbadly |
Jeeze, I lived in Utah for 9 years and my riding was limited to the summers. Fortunately, I lived in Park City so I skied instead (hence the screen name). Now that I'm in the Seattle area, I do ride all year. It's a bit damp, but other than that.... | ||
| Mattmcc00 |
Damn, now I really want to go ride. Sounds like I'm going to have to do another fly & ride trip this winter. Maybe not colorado on account of all the snow. Any recomendations? | ||
| Mnrider |
Yup mines pretty much put away also but now it's time to enjoy some snowboarding,ice fishing and snowmobiling.  | ||
| Hughlysses |
Both the heat and the humidity are bad, and I'd say the humidity is the bigger drag of the two. But honestly it is semi-tolerable so long as you can stay at highway speeds and wear full mesh as BuellerXT said. I just stop commuting during those months as I sometimes get stuck in some pretty slow traffic. +1 to that for coastal SC where I live. The worst is getting stuck in stop-and-go traffic at 5 PM on the freaking interstate. The conditions get pretty brutal between 100+ degree F temperatures, 90%+ relative humidity, heat coming off the frame/engine, heat from the sun, the heat coming off the pavement, and the exhaust and hot air off ~5,000 vehicles in front of you. If I can adjust my commute time to come in before it's so hot and leave before the worst of rush hour, I can commute all summer. | ||
| Kublak |
Gotta give a +1 on the screws thru the knobbies. It works for guys I mountain bike with here in western PA. Up n over frozen and icy logs in the woods like stickum on gloves in the old NFL. | ||
| Buelldualsport |
In Ohio, we Hare Scrambled all winter with the studded knobbies. What a hoot. Here in the Carolinas, they panic when it gets below 40 D F. Unless you are in the Boone Banner Elk WNC area, where they love the snow. Ride em while you can | ||
| Tootal |
I agree with Colorado being a great way to go. Ride all Summer and Ski all Winter!  Oh, and you can usually find a nice beer at the end of the day!  | ||
| Biffdotorg |
I saw yet another snowmobile show last night about sled touring in Quebec. There has to be some of the most beautiful trails in North America in your region. I'm talking about putting on 150-200 mile sled trips day after day and not seeing the same trail twice! We all itch our throttle finger with the rubber/studs to the snow. Give it a shot.  | ||
| Mattmcc00 |
Well in Quebec our overlords sought it necessary to force new laws onto us mandating certified winter tires between the months of November and March. The effect of which makes it illegal to ride a motorcycle in those months, due to the lack of government recognized CERTIFIED winter tires for motorcycles. So even on a day like today where it is dry and +9C outside you cannot ride because your tires do not meet the overlords specifications. Also the overlords have banned studded tires in the city. I can't imagine what they would do to you if they found screws in your tires.... lol Probably a stiff scolding, and a fine, plus a tow truck because the officer could not release you on your cycle. Our government is always keen on trying anyway they can to put the hate on motorcyclist. This is because of universal health care. Their argument goes: seeing as the state has to pay to patch people up after they have an accident, and that it costs more money to the state to patch-up a motorcycle driver than a car driver. They pour on the hate for motorcyclists. Every year it gets harder and harder to keep riding, fees keep rising and new laws keep screwing us over. |
