Riding on ice, snow, in the midwest, or anywhere for that matter

[henzilla]

I also think any dedicated Winter rider WILL go down eventually, and likely repeatedly. Not a big deal with ATGATT and low speed, but I agree that losing traction on ice is really scary. You really have no control and you can't do anything but hang on and hope it goes well, which it often doesn't!

We ride year round, but it rarely ices here and may last one day...and when it does no one should be on the road in the hills...that never ends well around here. No city lower than Dallas in the state is prepared for ice...and as the Supebowl week recently showed,they didn't handle it well either.

Having said that we have got caught on mountain passes in the west and had to get off the mountain in some snowy/sleeting situations a few times.You tend to really focus

[stkmkt1]

Funny you should post this thread. Last weekend, I rode up from central Illinois to Racine, Wisconsin to meetup with Lois Pryce and her husband, Austin Vince. On my way back, traveling through Chicago, I hit a huge traffic jam as I got on I55. After over three hours of nearly going no where, I found myself on ice. I had a semi jack-knife while sitting next to me. Couldn't have been going more than about 2MPH. Rode was at an angle. I had to side over to another lane between cars to keep from getting squashed!

Anyway, this all started about 5PM. at about 9 PM, we finally got going up to maybe 30-40 MPH. By this time, I just wanted to get off the road and into a hotel. No way was I going to ride another 200 miles in this stuff, especially at night.

So in my attempts to cross over two lanes so I could get off at the upcoming exit, I fell, running about 35-40 MPH. Fortunately, all four lanes of traffic was stay well behind me. I think they all new it was only going to be a while before I went down. So While I was sliding with the GSA on my ankle, at least I did not have to worry about being run over.

So after coming to a stop, I picked myself up, checked to make sure all body parts were still functioning, and then picked up the GSA. That was fun on ice. And NO ONE came by to help me pick it up.

My Aerostich suit did a great job protecting me. Pants are a bit shredded along the bottom. Bike has a few new character building modifications, I've got a bruised ankle. But other than that, no problems. I slid, as bike racers do, kept my head off the pavement, and made sure that I did not do any rolling. I'm impressed than I controlled myself regarding this. But then again, I was partially under the bike, which is not where I should have stayed.

After looking the bike over, I hopped back on it started it up, and finally made it off I55 and to a nearby hotel. The state police closed I55 right after than as well as the road in front of the hotel. And Lake Shore drive too I'm told.

I had Gerbings on under my Aerostich Darian suit. I have a dual-controller to control heat output. I will ride all year long as long as the roads are clear. In this case, an unexpected light snow fell as I rode through Chicago, and all the traffic on the interstate caused it to melt and re-freeze.

Trust me when I say it is not fun to hold up a nearly fully loaded GSA on ice for nearly 4 hours. And it doesn't help that I have a 30" inseam either. But I love the GSA and in the end, we're both okay.

[ultracyclist]

I am glad that you are OK. You are 10 times the rider that I am.

But...did you check the long range weather prior to your trip?