Why?

Do people ride bikes in ice and snow and then are surprised when the have an "Off"
I accept the fact that some may not have alternative transport i.e.car and may have a walk to use public transport but surely this is better than a bent bike and making yourself open to possible serious injury if not by impact,by a sliding vehicle trying to avoid you
Sorry the Gung-Ho attitude of I ride in all weathers mystifies me


Yes I expect to get stick from this post but I would rather have a sensible answer.

[SoulKiss]

Originally Posted by Dicky Ticker

Do people ride bikes in ice and snow and then are surprised when the have an "Off"
I accept the fact that some may not have alternative transport i.e.car and may have a walk to use public transport but surely this is better than a bent bike and making yourself open to possible serious injury if not by impact,by a sliding vehicle trying to avoid you
Sorry the Gung-Ho attitude of I ride in all weathers mystifies me


Yes I expect to get stick from this post but I would rather have a sensible answer.

I rode to work this AM, with a pillion for most of it too.

However there was, at worst, only patchy snow and I took it easy.

Still did the trip in < 25 mins tho (and that was with the Kingsway Tunnel being closed)

I have been riding thro the winter to improve my experience. I have had a fairly big off but i accept that this is the risk and i feel better off for it. I am sure you will say that that there are easier ways to learn but this is the way i choose to get better. Admittitly the car was at fault with mine, but the weather played a big factor.

Its all a learning curve, and for me (passed my test in Oct) i hope that it will make me a more confident rider by summer

Edit: Sorry didnt realise this was in the Essex bit. I will get back to the west

contact patch of tyre on the road? bout a credit card's worth on each wheel? if u dont have to ride then dont.

25 years ago the old man used to ride the Bonnie from East London to Brentwood (just to see me ) every evening through a really bad spell of thick snow one winter. He would ride with both his feet down to keep the bike upright, but it was the only transport he had and he was 25 years younger.

He freely admits that he wouldn't even consider riding the Triumph in this weather but says he would take my SV out happily (charming! ) because it would be easy enough for him to ride on any surface. For him maybe but not me! I wouldnt get across the garden!

Well as long as you stick to main roads they are normally gritted or salted, the only worry is usually just outside your house as its normally not gritted. When I left home there was no snow in Portsmouth, but my journey took me through lots as I travelled up the A3 and I didn't see any on the road. So in all it was no worse then travelling in the rain.

I'm an all weather rider, I will hang up the keys for snow and heavy ice.

next to nights in my book qualify, I have already felt my front end slipping on 4/5 occasions over the last couple of days.

I know I'm going to hate it tho, all them idiots in thier cars, no reasonable places to overtake etc

AND its going to cost a weeks worth of Bike fuel to every 1 day in the car

[Dave20046]

I'm not surprised, I think I've done it once or twice now (in bad snow). Also got knocked off in the winter (good conditions just cold and dark). I've now decided it isn't worth it and only using it when I need/want to and using the car otherwise. And being especially careful when I'm forced to use it (like when cars broke) as we all know what sod's law's like; a local bloke used his gsxr instead of his car oneday for work as it was broke and was killed when a heavy wind forced him wide into an oncoming car. Or you could take my mates view 'if it's going to happen that day it will be it on a bike a scooter or a bus'. Personally I'd like the odds on my side from here on in.

[Stu]

I rode in the snow today, which consisted of my road covered in snow which took about 5 mins, then all the rest of the roads were clear.
I don't think it's a totally gung ho attitude that makes people do it, but usually the thought that local roads can be dealt with carefully and the rest are usually gritted & OK. That & the alternative (public transport) too ghastly to contemplate and even worse if there is the mearest hint of a problem like snow.

Presumably we are talking a couple of streets feet down till we get on to major trunk or commute routes and not riding miles on local rural roads
Just incase you are wondering why I put this up I picked up a middle aged rider from my front drive this morning who had to brake for a car coming the other way and was lucky enough to slide on to my drive and not into the path of the car