Winter riding = better rider?

[wattyfred89]

I think if your a panzi (like my mate who never takes his bike out if there is any chance of it getting wet) you simply cant clock up the milage and experiance ( in this country anyway) ... and i think i good rider is one that can have a lifetime of enjoying motorbikes and not die/cripple himself

I reckon riding through winter has definitely made me a better rider. Not better round country twisties (thats what sunny days are for!), but better at observation, better at riding in the rain etc. Plus I haven't had a 5 month break from biking, which can only be a good thing (now that I can feel my fingertips again!)

[BanannaMan]

Actually it's the other way around for me.
better rider = winter riding

It wasn't until I became a better rider that I started riding in the winter because I wanted to ride more.
But I'm a weekend rider. (Bikes don't do well as service trucks)

As for the sliding, I'm well used to that year round.
There is a joke here locally, that the state has a gravel truck follow the pavers, so they can throw out loose gravel in all the bends before any traffic is allowed on it.

Does winter riding make you a better rider?

All riding makes you a better rider, by any deffinition of the word IMHO.
It's more than leaning hazzards, it's learning itself.
It's how you are going to react in a future situation based on what was learned in past.
Reacting in a manner that does anything from saving the bike to improving your cornering skills is what being a better rider is all about, at any speed and in every situation.


I suppose there may be people who learn to act cautious rather than to react to cautions, but I think they would have learned the same in the summer first time they went for a slide.
And certainly everyone first has to learn....
But if you have to think about it, even for a split second, sooner or later you'll find yourself at the intersection of "Surprise" and "It's too late".

And that's what more seat time will do for you, especially with adverse conditions thrown in. You learn not how to act but how to react.