AberdeenBikers

I got out on the bike at the weekend and learned how to calculate windchil based on the speed I am going.. (minus 6) Needless to say my run was cold, wet and full of salt. Spent 2 hours cleaning the bike and trying to scrub up the chain again 2 days later :-( I find the less I ride during the colder months the harder it is to break the cycle and get out, it never used to be this way.

On my run out west I did see a few bikers still grinding it out and almost looking as though they where enjoying it (bar the pizza deliver scooter folks)

So who is still 2 wheeling!? and who has given up for the year?

when I can, weather permitting, now that I no longer work in westhill (redundant from shclumberger in nov) agency work means I have to take the bike across town to save time thru traffic,... until today when westhill ...or at least my street was all slush.

Itching to get out for a run. Can't find my bloody thermals though...

I always keep the bikes taxed and ready to go and used the bike for commuting most of the year. However, not being able to afford a day off work, I have been using my winter run-a-round car since sometime in november due to the shitty weather and all the salt on the road (I can't be arsed cleaning the bike everyday).

Big Kneed Al (master of the emergency stop & "stand up" comedian).

I am still riding, but not done much recently due to the bike being captive for a while during some wee tweaks around the driveway/garden, then they were captive behind DIY stuff…now they are not captive the weather has been bouncing around freezing, with a lot of ice hanging about in the morning…and all day on my driveway.

With the correct bike/tyres, I ride when the weather is below minus 5 deg C.
There is a surprising amount of grip if the air temperature stays well below freezing for a few days.

Previous years I would have selected “commute daily”
But currently my road bikes are fitted with normal tyres, so they won’t be seeing the road if any snow or sleet is forecast.
This was something I did not consider when swapping out bikes earlier this year, and is now a major oversight …but some people has said that it is not a bad thing as biking in the snow is not the best of ideas, which I don’t disagree with.

Mind you, there are a few things that often get done which seem like a good idea at the time…eating too much…drinking alcohol…buying a R1…one more waffer thin mint…fafing with the female of our species…all of which will bite back sooner rather than later …but all are a really good idea at the time, and time again, and again when one is still breathing.

Due to my family situation (the missus isn't driving at the moment) I can only grab a couple of hours at a weekend if i'm lucky and the weather is on my side.

So asides from wanting to be on my bike all the time, I have to suck it up and do the nursery runs morning and night

I have had to opt for the third option for the first time since I started riding bikes, my bike is at my work so it can get can the 16,000 mile service and some trick bits fitted.

But will no doubt be back on the road mid January

Nice wee bimble today. Run round town to laugh at cagers stuck in traffic, then out the road for an hour. loving cold despite winter gloves and heated grips!

As I am heading home to family over the next few days I am sorely tempted to take the bike instead of the car, the weather looks to be more than fair considering the time of year.

Although as much as I love the heated grips, I am still going to invest in some bark buster style hand guards to finish the colder climate protection off as I still get really cold finger tips while out which is mightily distracting when its really cold out.

Bike run on xmas day... Cant say I have ever been close to thinking such a thought before...

haiax0 wrote: Bike run on xmas day...

Should make it a tradition.

Just be aware that there is usually a plod car kicking around town if you decide that wheelying up a deserted Union Street is a good idea. Fortunately the other year (so I hear) the copper was feeling lenient...

haiax0 wrote:Although as much as I love the heated grips, I am still going to invest in some bark buster style hand guards to finish the colder climate protection off as I still get really cold finger tips while out which is mightily distracting when its really cold out.

I had the barkbuster hand guards on my Monster for a while and to be honest they made no difference to the temperature of my hands. Plus they tend to look crap on anything other than an "adventure" style bike.

Your money would be better spent on a pair of heated gloves in my opinion. They are heated right to the end of your fingers on the outside of your hands. Combine them with heated grips for ultimate warmth.

On my Monster I installed the wiring on the bike combined to a simple two way bar switch next to the factory switches to give a stealthy install.



One position for both off, position 1 for the heated gloves/vest, position 2 for heated gloves/vest & grips.

Big Kneed Al (master of the emergency stop & "stand up" comedian).

I'm out all the time on the bike, got the heated grips on so no issues, but a bit slidey some days where its been below zero the night before, been out the seat a few times but nothing major......

good for the bad weather riding practice saves me getting rusty, see a few other bikes around also...

Are the heated gloves a faff, I love the idea but the practicality? I am sure I would find it hard to remember I am wired in and try and leave the bike.

On the bike whenever I get a chance these days.

although it doesn't have an engine.

haiax0 wrote:Are the heated gloves a faff, I love the idea but the practicality? I am sure I would find it hard to remember I am wired in and try and leave the bike.

No more of a faff than normal winter gloves. I have the loom for them in my jacket between the thermal liner and the outer shell. The loom is Y shaped so that it goes down each arm with a single connector the hangs down from the front of my jacket and connects to the connector on the bike which pokes out from in front of the seat behind the fuel tank. The connector is of a type that will come apart if you step off the bike without disconnecting it first so no problems there.

Not being distracted by the cold makes heated kit an essential piece of my winter safety equipment for me.

In winter, and in shitty weather the rest of the year, keeping the cold drafts out is half the battle to keep warm. For that I throw on a non-breathable hi-viz jacket from Arco over my bike jacket which works a treat.

http://www.arco.co.uk/products/1874000?s=1

Big Kneed Al (master of the emergency stop & "stand up" comedian).

First ever for me - a run out on my motorbike on Christmas Day. Dry roads, no salt, 7 degrees. a nice few hours on clear roads

used the bike almost all the way through, had to decamp to the car a few times, one morning in particular when the battery had drained with the cold... . , the only other good thing about being out of work / not having agency work is getting out on my pushbike to crack in a bit of mileage on cold still mornings