Winter riding = better rider?

Originally Posted by beabert

Define better.

Able to wheelie at 200mph.

[mister c]

I am a carp wet weather rider (some say I'm the same in the dry too lol). I dont think riding in the winter makes me a better rider, but it does make me more cautious. I do tend to look further ahead & am checking the road surface all of the time after my last off.

When i did my DAS last summer my trainer advised me to ride through the winter in all conditions with the obvious exceptions of snow and ice. he gave me two reasons for doing this:

Firstly to learn how the bike handles in different conditions, so when caught out in hale or torrential rain in the summer stress doesnt take over and

Secondly, he felt that riding in different weathers would improve my forward thinking, observation and anticipation and then come summer, my riding would be dramatically improved. It definitely has, but whether thats due to riding in different conditions or purely because ive clocked up more miles im not sure. Probably a combination of both!!

I did my lessons in the winter and it was snowing and raining you name it and it did execet it was never sunny and I think it made me more confident in bad weather.

Does it make you a better rider? Hell no, i'd say it makes me worse.

Sure you gain experience with wet/icy road conditions, how to deal with the the cold, having to rinse off your bike, spend a lot more maintaining it.. But does it give me any skill? Hell no?

Why? Im in my winter gear, dressed like a michellin man. All I care about is getting to work, without fuss, without slides, without freezing, with minimal movement to retain my warmth. Farting helps I can't ride hard, or fast, or improve my skill levels. Sure when it warms up a bit, and the roads are still wet, you can improve your wet riding skills, but overal, no it makes me worse.

When warmer weather comes, the layers get dropped from the bike kit, you can move about more. In the warmer dry, i'll move my ****, hang off further, brake later, move my body more, but I don't do this in the winter as all I care about it getting out the cold and dark into the office or home where I can warm up again.


Plus when they lay salt down the roads become ice rinks and theres no skill to be gained from that. Doing 10mph round a roundabout because you can feel the front/back sliding due to the crappy salt sitting on top of the road. Its more scarey, not fun, or improve me skills.

For skills improvements, you need to go on track.

In BIKE magazine June 2010 Rupert Paul writes:
"Here's another [myth]. Riding in winter makes you a better rider........
<snip>.. My friend Matt, who's spent the last six months doggedly riding his R1 most days, admits he's cocking up corners like a newbie now the grip has returned."

Perhaps this is the editorial in question, although not worded quite so elitistly.

I'm not sure, myself. I think it's quite easy to get back in the swing of things after some time off the bike, and if you're not enjoying riding in the bad weather you're hardly likely to be improving your skills anyway. I know that riding in the wet makes you a more competent wet-weather rider, though.

+1 it makes you a better rider. Biking's not all about getting your knee down. In fact, off the track it should almost never be. I look at my toes scraping the road as having used up my spare space should anything go wrong. It's fun, but having to lean much further will put me at great risk of smashing up a bike I can't afford to replace/fix.

This winter every ride for near on 2 months I had one, or other, or both wheels slide on snow, mud, gravel, salt and Christ knows what else. A weekly reminder to keep an eye on the surface, expect the unexpected and leave myself some wiggle room. Never mind dealing with the cold, or riding at night, unable to see the side of the road half the time due to headlights reflected in the wetness. It all adds to the sum of experience. What happens if you have to ride home at night, and/or it starts to rain? Sh*t your pants? Stay in a hotel? Or just adjust your riding and your attitude to the situation in front of you?

Or... you could wrap your shiny superbike up for the winter, get fat and unfit and re-learn how to ride in 2-3 months on Black Sunday. With your knee down.

Carternd, do you what bike that is you have sitting in your picture there, and the story about the chap who raced it? OT of course

I think it helps with the riding skills-

Firstly, you learn to ride more cautiously and get experience with wet and freezing roads
Secondly, you're riding right through- so you're maintaining your general riding skills, rather than taking 5-6 months out and starting again every year (I have no experience of this however- for those that only do summer, do you find yourself rusty for the first few rides?).

[fastdruid]

Originally Posted by carternd

+1 it makes you a better rider. Biking's not all about getting your knee down. In fact, off the track it should almost never be. I look at my toes scraping the road as having used up my spare space should anything go wrong. It's fun, but having to lean much further will put me at great risk of smashing up a bike I can't afford to replace/fix.

+1 I have never had my knee down on the road (on the track its every corner). I've even given myself a stern telling off when I've got the pegs down (all of twice in 40k).

IMO I'm a far better rider for riding through winter, slower maybe but absolutely better. I'm also *much* faster when it does rain, mostly because I don't panic and I'm relaxed.

Druid