[ST] Lessons from the cold

["Bailey, Doug" <DBailey@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>]

Since those of you who live in the warmer areas are complaining about snow I
thought I'd share a couple lessons from the colder climates.  

1.  If the forecast on say last Thursday was for just flurries and nothing
came of it don't expect that the same forecast for Friday will yield the
same results and ride to work.  When you leave work on Friday you may find
you can see for less than 0.1 mile, have to clear the snow off your bike,
and have to give your ride home some extra thought to avoid the hills and
curves as much as possible.

2.  If since your adventure in snow riding the temperatures have not
exceeded 32 degrees F in your garage the next time you go to ride you may
find your throttle stuck.  Working it a little may eventually free it from
the apparent ice in the line somewhere.

3.  Find the transition temperature of your boots sole.  The transition
temperature is the temperature at which the rubber that is normally soft and
grippy or turns hard and slippy.  If you are below the transition
temperature and do not know it you may find yourself a victim of a gravity
storm.  This morning I found a minor gravity storm at 13 degrees F while
arriving at work.  Fortunately is was only a minor storm.  So I now know my
transition temperature is between 13 and 16 degrees.

4.  At 13 degrees it will take a couple extra tries to get the bike to
start.

5.  Heated grips are a life saver.

These are just a few I could think of.  Once my brain thaws I may be able to
think of a couple more.


Doug Bailey "(Frozen, but still worth the ride) Hound Dawg"




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