Weather where you are?

[IAG]

Paul - it was -25 deg C at the trailhead yesterday morning (that's Mount Ogden in the background in Yoho park). Good thing about the cold, not many other idiots out playing in nature's backyard
View attachment 55370

Really beautiful scenery!

 

[chrisk]

Nice shots of your backyards. Here’s mine:

26c, 72% humidity and overcast.

Oh, and unlike Todd’s pool, as seen on the locked tread, ours have to be fenced

 

[Laverda SF]

Now COLD on the Shore of Lake Huron mid Feb -20C and a foot of snow - Can get up to -10C at Hi-Noon - Can't wait for the warm March winds ;o)

In the mean time, just keep your car plugged-in with Methyl Hydrate & Fuel Injection Cleaner in the tank, a jumper cable & Battery Charger on hand ;o)

Tires can go POOF! So do check your tire pressure.

Do NOT rush loading the engine before warming her up as you can break a piston.

Suggest you change your Oil and Filter and do lube job every year, top off the battery with a full charge every Fall and coolant good for -40C.

TIP on Northern Hemisphere Vehicle Maintenance ;o)

I'm for a greener environment but doubt a battery charged car like a Tesla would survive or even serve a purpose in my country. A 100 watt light bulb or a candle under the oil pan does.

 

[GregT]

A candle under the oil pan is asking for trouble....

I used to work for a local company which made heaters and heating elements. Amongst the stuff we made were sump and in-line water heaters for emergency vehicles. At the time it was more like an approaching ice age than global warming - we'd had several very bad winters in a row.
I was running a diesel van as transport to work - stored in an open fronted barn. After one winter of this it had got a bit heavy on batteries...So I grabbed one of the in-line heaters. Put it in the bottom hose, no probs. Then thought about temp control as there was no regulation provision.
We had in stock thermal cutouts - about 15mmX20mm chips with a couple of wires coming off them. I appropriated an 18deg C one and hose clamped it to the top hose fitting. Worked a treat.

Now of course we haven't had a really bad winter here for several years.

 

[arancia]

I moved from UK to Arizona, USA many years ago for a work contract and stayed because it didn't rain as much as in London and other places I'd lived in UK despite riding my motorcycles year round there unless the snow and ice made doing so ridiculous.
Aerostitch, one of the motorcycling clothing vendors focusing on daily and touring riders in USA, put together a chart of the number of rideable days per year in places around the US based on their idea of how their specialized clothing supports riding motorcycles, I was surprised to see that their assessment of Phoenix was only 214 days per year compared with cities in California >360 days per year.

Aerostich Rideable Days Poster

How many days would you like to ride? Based on a formula that includes selected ambient temperature ranges when riding with Aerostich gear, this colorful map portrays a fascinating representation of the annual number of rideable days easily achievable annually throughout the United States...

www.aerostich.com

Yes, it gets absurdly hot here in the summer but if you get up early and ride north and return after dark it's almost tolerable in mid-summer and I have no interest in sitting in traffic in town in Phoenix on my heat generating bikes in mid-summer when I could be in my air-conditioned car, but I wonder how that relates to the riding season among our friends in Northern US, Canada, Australia, NZ, Northern Europe, South Africa, and others when you'd prefer not to ride or use other methods, etc. It's not a long ride to find winter weather conditions in northern Arizona for many months of the year. I have no problems with falling rain or snow if I have traction, contact with the road and the brakes work and when I get home it's warm.
How many days per year do you find the weather makes road riding no fun in your region?
Ulterior motive - I'm looking for options for the alternative place to keep a bike so I'll be able to visit, potentially work remotely via the internet when on the road and ride close to all year round - it isn't working now with my bike kept in the UK when Covid19 restrictions are making getting there impossible. I'm optimistic Covid19 will pass eventually but interested to explore year-round riding and touring options. My UK-based 750GTL may be looking for a new base.
Do we have any participants in South America - how's the riding season in Brazil, Chile, Argentina?

 

[sideshow]

I moved from UK to Arizona, USA many years ago for a work contract and stayed because it didn't rain as much as in London and other places I'd lived in UK despite riding my motorcycles year round there unless the snow and ice made doing so ridiculous.
Aerostitch, one of the motorcycling clothing vendors focusing on daily and touring riders in USA, put together a chart of the number of rideable days per year in places around the US based on their idea of how their specialized clothing supports riding motorcycles, I was surprised to see that their assessment of Phoenix was only 214 days per year compared with cities in California >360 days per year.

Aerostich Rideable Days Poster

How many days would you like to ride? Based on a formula that includes selected ambient temperature ranges when riding with Aerostich gear, this colorful map portrays a fascinating representation of the annual number of rideable days easily achievable annually throughout the United States...

www.aerostich.com

Yes, it gets absurdly hot here in the summer but if you get up early and ride north and return after dark it's almost tolerable in mid-summer and I have no interest in sitting in traffic in town in Phoenix on my heat generating bikes in mid-summer when I could be in my air-conditioned car, but I wonder how that relates to the riding season among our friends in Northern US, Canada, Australia, NZ, Northern Europe, South Africa, and others when you'd prefer not to ride or use other methods, etc. It's not a long ride to find winter weather conditions in northern Arizona for many months of the year. I have no problems with falling rain or snow if I have traction, contact with the road and the brakes work and when I get home it's warm.
How many days per year do you find the weather makes road riding no fun in your region?
Ulterior motive - I'm looking for options for the alternative place to keep a bike so I'll be able to visit, potentially work remotely via the internet when on the road and ride close to all year round - it isn't working now with my bike kept in the UK when Covid19 restrictions are making getting there impossible. I'm optimistic Covid19 will pass eventually but interested to explore year-round riding and touring options. My UK-based 750GTL may be looking for a new base.
Do we have any participants in South America - how's the riding season in Brazil, Chile, Argentina?

Have a look at Valencia or Alicante. Great weather for winter riding , and being on the mainland you can escape over the border within a few hours. If you want you can even get to Morocco by ferry from Valencia for some dessert adventure riding. In the heat of the summer you have the sea breeze in both Valencia and Alicante.

 

[Tippie]

We have a place just south of Malaga but we don't go there through the hottest part of the summer (can't go there at all atm grrrr). For one it is really too hot for being active outdoors, and also that is the peak renting season for people who love that heat so we let it out to them. All other times of year it is just fantastic. Very popular for boy racers around the hills there too but I haven't got a mc there.

 

[henrywillms]

Cold shrunken pecker or hot sweaty balls........maybe I'll mimic the Canada geese and migrate with seasons now that I'm retired. This would also give me the opportunity to ride some roads in new locations.....maybe when Covid is over.

 

[helicopterjim]

Cold shrunken pecker or hot sweaty balls........maybe I'll mimic the Canada geese and migrate with seasons now that I'm retired. This would also give me the opportunity to ride some roads in new locations.....maybe when Covid is over.

You and me both ....... my boss has a place in Costa Rica with guest house. The roads in the Northwest province of Guanacaste are mostly pretty good and the traffic level isn't too heavy. I could ride my SF there and leave it for the winter (just have to get it across the Nicaraguan border and back once every 6 months to make it legal).

I can dream.

Jim

 

[piranha-bro2]

Melbourne (Aus) and S E Australia mostly fine for riding except (for me) mid summer if temps go above low-mid 30s. City riding in heat is a nightmare - I use my bicycle for that.

 

[Shajota]

All year round riding here in North Queensland. Only thing that stops us is weather events such as cyclones or flooding rains. And yes a big wet season can disrupt things for a bit, but you can still ride if roads not flooded!
I know some don't like mid summer heat but I don't consider it an issue, just a bit of discomfort till you get moving. (Wet season is in summer too, so that helps cool things down)
Now, mid winter chills in our Southern Climes might be another matter

 

[piranha-bro2]

You're right about the heat if you can keep moving. Have done plenty of touring in the heat. Just gotta get out of cities before the comfort level rises.

 

[Shajota]

You're right about the heat if you can keep moving. Have done plenty of touring in the heat. Just gotta get out of cities before the comfort level rises.

Ah, yes, of course, cities!!
Not much traffic light stop and start around here and peak hour is when someone gets to the roundabout in town before you

 

[GregT]

Now, mid winter chills in our Southern Climes might be another matter

I'm about 20 degrees south of you and all year riding is quite possible here. Possibly because as an island we're never far from the sea and while temps do get down, it's not for long
When we lived in ChCh i used to commute to the port of Lyttelton on a CB100. Adequate if you kept the exhasust valve clearance at "generous"...
I well remember coming out of the road tunnel in port one morning to find several cars upside down on the side of the road. Black ice all the way down the main street. I rode it as a trials section - feet up, front wheel one side of the centerline and the rear hanging down the crown on the other side. Surprised myself by not falling off. Part way down, I passed a workmate pushing his moped down the footpath. He apparently (I couldn't look) took a look at me over his shoulder, stumbled and fell over under the bike....Broke an ankle.
I've only seen black ice here 3 times in my lifetime. Probably never will again.

We now live on what the South Africans on the local council call the high veldt. Inland Canterbury plains. Very hot summers. rare now, winter snow.

 

[Legs]

Don't know about things getting bearable once out of the city. Started to suffer from heat stroke between Hay and West Wylong years ago. Not fun and very dangerous!

 

[Shajota]

Don't know about things getting bearable once out of the city. Started to suffer from heat stroke between Hay and West Wylong years ago. Not fun and very dangerous!

Hey Terry, no doubt you can get days like that.
Interestingly the hottest ride I've ever had was in SA in '77 on the way to WA.
It was an extremely hot dry heat and we kept having to stop, rest and drink whenever and wherever we could. My lips ended up being just big blisters and no doubt we were feeling the effects. Thankfully the next day was much improved and rest of the trip including the way back was great.
While the high humidity we get in the North is often very uncomfortable the moisture helps a bit when you get moving at highway speeds in contrast to how uncomfortable human movement in it is!
It's just hot air in those dry heat waves!

 

[Legs]

Was a trip from Adelaide to Brisbane; started to feel the heat around Pinaroo at eight in the morning, started to sweat around Ouyen and by the time I got to Balranald it was starting to hit me, bought a 2 litre bottle of cold water and stuffed it down my jacket, when I got to Hay I thought the bottle had burst as I was saturated, it hadn't just sweat. Filled up in hay and by the time I got out of town the expansion tank in the fairing of the RGS was overflowing.
Had to stop in Rankin Springs to cool down, poured another bottle of water over my head and feet before setting off to West Wylong, by the time I got there I was in a bad way and collapsed in a heap in the shade outside motel. End of the day's ride.

 

[Vince]

We usually stop for fuel every 200ks, that's usually 2 1/2 hours or so. In hot weather wearing all the gear, even the mesh jacket, that's too long between cold drinks. When it's hot I cook heading home in the traffic. This year I bought a litre thermos flask and topped it up with chilled water in the tank bag with the plan of having a drink every time we stop. Tried it once so far this summer and arrived home with the bloody thing still full. Didn't get a chance for even a mouth full.

 

[GregT]

For riding in heat snd staying hydrated, try a CamelBak. Couple of mates here who do as much long distance as can be done in NZ, swear by them.
Tube inside the helmet works well they tell me.

 

[motoddrob]

In the good old days we would hydrate every time we past a pub!! Can't do that anymore, well not every pub.