What's the longest trip you've taken in "cold" weather? [Archive]

OUTBACKUFO

01-11-2008, 10:03 AM

And how did you cope with it? Gear, planning, general strategies, etc.?

The longest was in mid May of O3.. left colorado second week of may for three weeks in Alaska... had snow or below 40F rain all the way to BC then frozen temps but dry roads to YT, then fresh slushy snow heading into AK... out of three weeks had only 3 days of actually clear skies where it did nto rain in cold temps or snow... tried to get to Prudoe Bay the first week of June hit ice on everything at 10-5F to the Beaver Slide where i turned around...
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v492/OutbackUfo/Alaska%202006/51734fd0.jpg
the best things i have found from skiing also..

ride a bit slower recduces windchill

dress in layers the more layers the more air pockets you make in you gear the warmer you will be... wear a neck gaurd. good winter waterproof gloves.. STAY DRY!!! and a pair of water tight boots... have used plastic bags over my sock when caught in very cold rainy conditions. a heated vest is a good investment.. it keeps your core warm... think of somehow keeping your wrist warm... will keep you hands and arms warmer... the wrists are a weak point in you gear.... the BMW rain suits are winterized a touch and i find them to almost be a bit too warm unless it is really cold. Eat healthy both carbos and meats so you body is burning energy.

I also do a Taoist style of breathing when riding all the time that helps me maintain body temp a touch more...

also you should stop and take a lot of picts to get you blood moving more through your legs...

rkasal

01-11-2008, 11:05 AM

I've ridden in colder weather but the longest was just short of 120 miles in 39 to 41 degree weather. The range is solely because the Crackberry weather link was showing 41 while I saw a couple of 39 degree signs.

There was a misty rain with some snow so it was colder a little higher up. And it was at night.

I had BMW winter gloves. Gore-tex motorcycle shoes and wool socks and jeans with no long-johns. A BMW heated vest and BMW jacket (forget the name) with the windproof liner. Once it started to rain, I took the vest off and put on the BMW rain suit over everthing. Over this, I put on the BMW heated vest but did not plug it in because of the rain. It has insulation.

All of this was fine and got me home. Having a full-face helmet helped but any colder or longer ride and a balaclava would have been great.

I think I'm going to get some single digit rides in the next week IF there's no salt applied to the roads. It's fun looking at the cagers look at me and shiver while I'm not really cold at all.

apopj

01-11-2008, 11:11 AM

Hey,

Went for a 97 mile ride the saturday before New Years. Outside temp was 20'. The "low temp" warning on the 'GS flashed "idiot idiot idiot" it was so cold. Put on my Gerbing jacket, gloves and the Fieldsheer riding suit and was nice and warm..... Went to Georgia from Ohio at 29'. But that's not really cold now, is it!!!!

rmarkr

01-11-2008, 11:19 AM

Try this. I go a series of excercises on the bike to get the heart rate up. Since you are well insulated already you heat up quickly. The age old trick still works - stuff newspaper into your clothing - it insulates surprisingly well.
:dance

Belquar

01-11-2008, 11:21 AM

Longest ride for me was about 3 hours in 35 degrees. Stupid me didn't wear the gear I had. Jeans and my Voyager jacket and winter gloves. Never been so cold in my life. And rather than bring my gear with me I left it at home. STUPID STUPID STUPID.

Never again. I ride in the cold but I wear my stuff and time is not an issue at that point. I am pretty toasty with my liners in and I have electric gloves now.

Brian

DarrylRi

01-11-2008, 11:30 AM

I've made a habit of going to the Deming Gathering (http://www.deminggathering.com) (in Deming, NM) for a number of years now. This is held on Veterans Day weekend in November.

One year, the weather was clear, so instead of staying low down on I-10 (boring), I went across the high country on back roads. Especially from Prescott, AZ through Show Low and Alpine, it was in the mid 20s. This was before I wised up and bought a heated jacket.

I survived this roughly 300 mile trek at altitudes up to about 8,000 feet, by layering up. I wore medium weight polypropylene long johns and shirt, liner socks then regular socks, pants and shirt, and my Darien suit with the liner in the jacket. I also wore heavy gloves. The bike's heated grips were on full and I can't say that I minded the oilhead's warm jugs blocking some of the air flow in front of my legs and feet.

screwtop

01-11-2008, 11:30 AM

About 420 miles in early spring one year (39 to 40 degrees F), heading to a Motoguzzi rally. The cold was not the issue - the rain was. My rain gear "gave up the ghost" about 1/2 way through the trip and I got saturated. The instrument cluster on the bike shorted out and all the warning lights were on, adding to my stress.

I've always said "I don't mind being cold, and I don't mind being wet, but I do mind being cold and wet. When I got home I built a fire in the fireplace and didn't move from the living room for 2 days.

rocketman

01-11-2008, 11:39 AM

Never done a particularly long trip in cold but I did spend 3 winters riding for a living 7-10 hours a day outside the whole time. Layers, but not over doing it. If you start to sweat then its all over! we leaned that the hard way in Scouts when my troop went on winter camp outs in snow. Wear something close to your skin that will help draw the moisture away from your skin to help keep you dry.

RM

kreinke

01-11-2008, 11:43 AM

200 miles round trip. Mid twenties.

I commuted all through November (25 miles each way) with a good solid week of riding in the teens at 11:00 at night.

Aerostitch electric vest
heated grips
GS handguards

Now I added a Sargent bun warmer. Ready to roll again as soon as the ice clears.

Paul_F

01-11-2008, 01:40 PM

It was about 1500 km (900+ miles) to the Branson Blitz last April. Temperatures ranged from the high 20s to the low forties. Rode through snow (melted on hitting the pavement), rain, hail and lightning (always a bad decision). Wore my Motoport Mesh Kevlar with liners, long johns, fleece, cotton turtle neck sweater, an electric vest, winter gloves, overgloves, balaclava and a full face helmet. Only the upper arms got cold so I have since replaced the electric vest with an electric Gerbings jacket with heated sleeves. It was a three day ride there. Met up with SIBUD for the final day of riding and more good company was found in Branson. Fortunately it was sunny and in the low 40s on the way home.

I had promised SIBUD to share my hotel room with him a few weeks earlier and rather than let him down I kept riding. In his case, he told me when we got there that he would have cancelled but rather bailing out on me, he rode with me the last day through some rather dreadful weather.

afhrnfa1

01-11-2008, 01:54 PM

720 miles in one day. 16 hours. I was just out for a ride and kept on going I was having so much fun. K 1100 RS:bolt Spring time in the rain

jdmetzger

01-11-2008, 02:09 PM

In July I rode about 375 miles in temperatures around the mid to upper 30's. SOme rain mixed in during that time. It was borderline horrible, actually. I was literally nowhere (Not even in the middle of it - I was THERE!), and there was no place to go inside to warm up. I considered pulling over and firing up my camp stove for warmth. The problem was unseasonable weather and I had also lost one of my warm gloves the day earlier. I used those single-use heat packs (two for each hand), heated grips, and multiple layers of clothing and riding gear. I didn't have cold-weather riding plants, just mesh pants with a liner PLUS a nice heavy pair of rain pants, and a pair of jeans.

Last month I did a 70 mile loop in 30 degree weather. I started to find wet road surfaces which worried me (ice?) so I turned back. Heated grips and vest for that one, so it wasn't too bad.

lancew

01-11-2008, 02:39 PM

February 2001. I was living in Atlanta, my then-gf (now wife) lived in Charlotte, and my college buddy's funeral was in Nashville. About a 750 mile trip, never got above 40 the whole day, and rained like hell all the way from Knoxville up through Asheville down to Charlotte. Left Atlanta at 4:30 am, was in CLT by around 8 IIRC.

I I was wearing Hein Geiricke boots (are they still around?), Olympia winter gloves, Cortech Jacket, and a neck gaiter over silkies (top to bottom), turleneck, and jeans under rain pants.

I was pretty okay until about 3 hrs from Charlotte- when it got dark, I got cold. By the time I got to Jane's place I was blue and shivering - she was ready and had a big pot of gumbo and a pint of Dewar's waiting when I got there.

hintzir09

01-11-2008, 08:47 PM

Last April I left for a month long trip from WI to CA. When I left WI it was 24 F and never got above 35 F for the next 4 days. On day 2 and 3 it never got above 30 F. It was actually getter colder as I headed south. I made it all the way down to the middle of Arkansas before it got above 35 F.

After that, riding in the 40s never felt so nice.

MLS2GO

01-11-2008, 10:46 PM

500 miles to Dallas and back to Kansas City one weekend in March, when it never reached 40. Had to stop in Fort Smith one the way down though because of the snow. I learned that if you feel a hot spot in your Gerbings you should check it out. Burned a big blister on my left index finger. Gerbings fixed the hot spot in less than a week including shipping both ways. If you are not warm, riding all day in the cold is extremely tiring.

6659

01-12-2008, 07:35 AM

About 1100 miles from Long Island to Daytona. It was snowing all the way down to Virginia. I had to stop at every Howard Johnsons on the NJ turnpike and sit on their radiators. This was back around 1976. At that time I only had my Army jacket but I did have a new pair of Hippo hands.

Today I put the bike in a van for a trip like that.

henzilla

01-12-2008, 08:51 AM

a 600 mile "bike date" day January 2006. Was to meet my ol' school buddy on her bike 250 miles away. Left Austin at dawn and 50 miles into ride saw a bank sign at 19, one of our coldest days in some time...had all my hi-tech poly undergarments and a heavy leather jacket, a 3/4 helmet with a fullfaced mask. Actually was relatively warm and could feel my fingers and toes
Pulled into meeting spot to see this rider with a huge parka and muffler covering their face, but recognized the Hollywood green bike...we rode a 100 mile loop around east Texas, then I rode home in the dark...in the twenties again...

oh yeah...I was on the Harley!:laugh :laugh :laugh

Oznay

01-12-2008, 01:38 PM

The 2 day,1000+ mile ride to the Blitz last year was a tad cool,started out in the teens,never got above freezin'the first day. However,have ridden to Bike Week,Daytona Beach 3 times,which is somewhere between 1900-2000 miles,and the last 2 trips,it was 15 below zeroF.the mornings I left. Last time,I wound up spendin'the first night away from home,in a barn,in Stone Lake Wi.,home of Stone Lake Leatherworks,where Dan, the owner, allowed me to sleep on top of a sewing table. Woke up to yet another start of 15 below zero. Each of my trips down,I never spotted'nother bike being ridden,( must've passed hundreds of trailers,with bikes on'em) until the 3rd day out. Each trip took 4 days.
I suppose my all time coldest ride also happened to be my very first time riding a motorcycle,which was back in Jan 26th'65,rode my first bike( a'59 650cc BSA. It was 35 degrees below zero,and rode it'bout 20 miles home,in Winnipeg at the time.

shoeman

01-12-2008, 02:09 PM

In March of 2005 I rode from Bluff, Utah to Kansas City in two days. The max temperature was about 35 and from Las Animas to Kansas City we rode in heavy 32-34 degree rain ( around 500 miles). The Colorado Highway Patrol closed Wolf Creek pass while we were at the summit because of heavy snow and limited visibility. We rode around the barricades (to damn cold on top).
I had a Gerbings jacket and gloves and Motoport Ultra II pants with thermal liner.

GlobalRider

01-12-2008, 07:44 PM

And how did you cope with it? Gear, planning, general strategies, etc.?

Turtleneck, heated Widder vest with collar, fleece 300 jacket and jeans under my Aerostich. A maximum of 22°F on a 340 mile day ride in the area.

Planning/strategies? None, just enjoyed the scenery, the clean crisp air and the occasional welcome smell of wood burning stoves.

The best part? There wasn't a single bug that had the guts to make an appearance. :laugh

bdiver

01-12-2008, 08:17 PM

Mine was back in the late 80's in March. Heading back from Seattle, Washington to Logan, Utah (going to Utah State at the time) after watching the March madness basketball tournament in the King Dome.

I left in the rain low 30's from Kent and headed over tiger mountain where it was snowing. Hit I-90 east and the signs said put your chains on and I kept going. I was on a Honda V45 Magna with a windshield. I had jeans with a gortex pants over that, steel toed cowboy boots which I still wear, a thin leather jacket and some leather ski gloves. The closer I got to the top of Snoqualmie pass the harder the snow came down and I just kept plodding along up the hill in the tracks of the truck in front of me.

Over the pass the sun was out and a plow was stuck so I stopped and asked if they needed help. :ha :ha Well the sun was short lived and I was back to blowing snow all through SE Washington then the Blue mountains of NE Oregon and it finally stopped near Boise ID. I was tired, freezing since it was in the low 20's but needed to get back so I pressed on.

Near Burly ID I headed South on I-84 and couldn't see the lines on road from the blowing snow and I was zipping along around 70 so I flipped up the visor and peaked around the side of the windshield and no wonder the lines were gone there was about an inch of snow on the road so I slowed down and immediately started fish tailing so I inched along for miles before the road was visible again.

In Snowville UT I was filling up with gas (roughly 2 AM) and a van of BYU volleyball players were getting gas to and one was whining about it being cold in the back and I said you don't know what cold is! Try sitting on a chair in the low 20's with 70 mph winds for 18 hrs and 800 miles then you can whine about cold. I did probably 500 miles of snow that day.

It took me about 3 days to get back to normal temp. I'm sure I had a bad case of Hypothermia. I now have made my own electric clothes including sox:thumb

Rasbutan

01-15-2008, 08:34 AM

400 miles, starting temp was 35 and dropped to 28 by the time I got there.

Went to St Louis for St Pattys Day.

GERBINGS!!! Heated gloves, jacket, socks.

Good times. :dance

RJM2096

01-15-2008, 11:22 AM

I rode my 1969 Norton Commando from Normal, IL to Springfield,IL in May 1973. That would be about 60 miles. It was about 40 degrees and sunny. But I did not have any heated clothing or windscreen/farings.

I sat for 2 hours on a heat register at my future wife's home shaking.

bobs98

01-15-2008, 11:45 AM

Several years ago, 1992 or 93, went overnight on New Year's Day ride. Not so bad going up, but the 120 miles home was quite cold at about 20 F. Naked Virago 1100 and without "real" riding apparel. Several layers, but none of it really kept the wind out. Fortunately there was no ice. Except on the chin.

dronning

01-15-2008, 11:46 AM

350 miles in single digit temps.

Darian 'Stitch with Gerbing electrics, Hippo Hands and a borrowed full face with heated face shield (HJC I think) as I couldn't find a heated shield for my Nolan.

Dave

tghsmith

01-15-2008, 03:31 PM

1985 colombus day, low thirties possible rain snow mix, thousand island's bridge NY to boston, 4am leaving to meet doc's moving rally in boston for lunch, 8am rain is reality, 10 am rain suit has given up layers of leather and clothes begining to soak through, 11 am theres snow added to the mix, using the jugs to heat spare wool glove liners on a rotation, 12:30 boston traffic is a mess do to weather and COLOMBUS DAY PARADE!!!boston harley cop leads me through traffic to resturant of the rally( we were even part of the parade for a block)find out most of the rally had abandoned this ill conceived idea the night before including my girl friend( below freezing camping on cape cod did them in) 1:30 pm leave boston heading for girl's house in kingston NY , snowing on mass turnpike but nothing sticking, 2:30pm cannot get any wetter or colder and someone is blasting me with a horn, its my girl friend, she had been stopping at every plaza to warm up and saw me go by(her rain suit is still working ) we make several more coffee and warm up stops get to her house after five. have at least 20 pounds of water in my leathers and clothes, 600miles plus most in cold rain. wed morning ride back to the thousand islands 50 degrees never felt that warm before.

sgtboring

01-16-2008, 02:18 PM

I did a 20 mile trip in college when it was -2 fahrenheit. That was just to say I did it. But that was on a bike with no windshield!! I was young then....

Recently the coldest I have been on a trip was my ride from TX to PA It started raining in Hope Arkansas and did not stop. It hovered between 41 and 36 degrees the whole trip. By the time I hit 81 north in Tennessee my boots and gloves were filled with water. I had my heated vest and the Heated grips going. By the time I was though Virginia I think the only part of me that was dry was my head and elbows. I kept using the vest despite the possibility of getting shocked until the end I believe it kept me from getting hypothermia. By the time I made it to my place in PA my fingers and toes were blue and I had the shivers. Besides be born a few miles from Woolrich PA, one of the reason I love wool so much is that it will keep you (warm enough) when its wet! That Why I always have a wool sweater and wool inserts for my gloves in my saddle bag and use wool socks year round.

When I got home at 0430 I pealed out of my gear, kissed my wife, had a couple of shots of the Famous Grouse and soaked in the tub until my wife woak me up on her way out the door for work.

john1691

01-16-2008, 05:39 PM

Last November our "end of summer ride" as from PA to WV, through VA and up to MD and back home. We did around 850 miles (I think) in 2 days, left town at 29', warmed to 32', but once into the "mountains" of WV it dipped back to 27'. The second day was overcast, stayed arounf 30-33 all day as we ran Skyline Drive pretty much by ourselves. Heated grips, heated vest, layers and layers everywhere else, except the boots, I put a chemical hot pack into the toe of each boot, works great. I ended up with frost bite on my right thumb, still bothers me whenever it drops below 40. Bought heated gloves, hope to never deal with frost bite again!

tghsmith

01-17-2008, 09:20 AM

forgot or mentally blocked this one, 14 degree morning in raleigh, have to go to work at scooterville, truck won't start, r100rs won't start, damn unfaired honda cb400f does!!!! 32 miles, bundled well but it still hurts.

Bullfrog

01-17-2008, 10:06 AM

In December of 1980, I picked my R100S up from the port in Bremerhaven, Germany (North) and rode to my home in Augsburg, Germany (South - near Munchen).

I experienced rain, sleet and snow the entire way! 589 km's by the road signs, anyway. In Nurmberg-Feucht, there was ice on the Autobahn and we were all going very slow. I felt pretty good although cold in my snowmobile suit , electric socks and hippo hands. Then....the back end started to slip and slide! I was gently moving to the shoulder (Rougher surface=less slippery) and this Mecredes 200D from Switzerland went by doing 360's on its' roof!!!!! I decided the shoulder was fine and the Rastplatz was only 300 meters ahead. Restaurant and Hotel!!! Hot Coffee and some brats mit pommes helped out and by the time I finished, the ice and be taken care of and the next 150 km's were only cold - not slippery.

Would I do that again with all the modern clothing and safety equipment? NO @$#%^&*(&%$ WAY!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Don't heal as fast no-a-days.:brad

Enjoy the winter, folks. It's in the 30's and dry here in Austin. Good ride in this morning.:)