Adrenaline jolt on a cold ride in

[bobhamlin]

Left early this morning 4:15. Had checked the temp and thought I read 23 degrees. When I got to the office, Frederick was reporting 18 degrees. Me love my Gerbing!

Because I was so early, there was very little traffic on I-270, and what was there was moving fast -- 80-85 when I occasionally looked down.

The jolt: You know how if you frequently ride the same road at the same speed--or much slower--you get used to the feel of certain curves? Figuratively, you could drive with your eyes closed?

Now imagine that one morning you're riding at a lot higher speed than normal, and you really like this speed because, in about an hour, traffic will likely have slowed to a crawl. Your bike is purring along, sounding good through the helmet's wind noise. Other than being 18 degrees out, this is riding, baby.

But then, as you begin your normal lean into a curve, the immutable laws of physics disrupt your autopilot, and, belatedly, you realize that you are swinging a lot wider than you should be. You bring it back under control, but realize that you were lucky there was no car beside you.

JOLT!

[Cajunrider]

I did that on a very tight switchback in the Hill Country at a much lower speed and it scared the socks off of me. Nothing was coming in the oncoming lane, thank God. It was almost as bad as the slap on the shoulder I suffered right after.

[peterdarby]

Been there. Done that. Complacency is not a good thing on a bike.

[AlabamaNomadRider]

Yep, been there and didn't like the feeling once it was over. You start thinking about what could have happened and that isn't a good thought.

[ringadingh]

Thats happened to me as well, the last couple times was in the fall just after I installed the car tire. It was just getting used to the new feeling when it leans and is no problem now.

[fish]

were your reflexes slowed because of the cold??

[jims]

Wow! 23 degrees and on the superslab - now that's an enthusiast. I went out Sunday for a bit in the low 30s and it was a drill. With the cold weather riding pants, jacket and helmet liner it takes me a couple miles to get used to the feeling of being in a straight jacket, especially in the short radius turns when parking etc. It was great to get out though after not riding for a couple of weeks. Do you find the 'car drivers' are less tolerant (if that is possible) of bikes in the winter?

[socwkbiker]

So how long was it before you got that seat pulled out of your ass from the pucker factor? I know I've been there on those rides. You start thinking about other things and suddenly realize that curve is right there. Yeah, you end up looking like this:

[bobhamlin]

Originally Posted by fish

were your reflexes slowed because of the cold??

No. The Gerbing stuff works very well.

If I have to blame anything: I was just mindlessly driving along, somewhere in la-la land, relaxed, not really noticing my increased speed.

It was one of those wake-up calls to pay a little more attention.

Originally Posted by jims

Do you find the 'car drivers' are less tolerant (if that is possible) of bikes in the winter?

I don't think we register with them either way. Rolled up windows, music playing, and other distractions happen year round.

[minst7877]

Originally Posted by Cajunrider

It was almost as bad as the slap on the shoulder I suffered right after.

Those slaps on the shoulder can be very bad. I'm setting here right now wasting time because they just did surgery on my shoulder to reshape rebuild the clavicle that was broken in one of those slaps a year and a half ago. I ride much more aware now.

DC

[Jared]

Too much ice on the roads around here. I wouldn't dare being on the roads in those type of temps.

[macmac]

I thought this was gonna have a Black Ice ending. The black seems have moved north about 3 feet.

[waterman]

Originally Posted by Utah Motorcyclist

Too much ice on the roads around here. I wouldn't dare being on the roads in those type of temps.

Same around here as well.

[Moose]

Riding in cold weather can be very dangerous. My worst experience came one morning when I was riding to work. It was 13 degrees with about a 5 mph wind. I was riding down a well traveled hwy and wasn't paying attention to anything but the car's taillights in front of me. We started over a bridge and that's when I noticed the sheet of ice in front of me. I felt the handlebars jerk and then felt the rear tire try to break loose. To this day I have no idea how I managed to stay up right on the bike. Funny part is for some reason the song "Jesus take the wheel" was going through my head just before and during the ice attack.. Good thing someone above was watching out for me that morning.. Haven't been a big fan of extreme cold weather riding since.. I do however pay more attention to wet and/or shiny places on the road now...

[ringadingh]

Ice on bridges can be a real eye opener, I have to cross two bridges that tend to freeze easily under certain conditions. So far Ive been luck and never found them ice covered.