ninjette.org

Go Back   ninjette.org > General > Motorcycling News

Notices

Reply
 
Thread Tools
Old January 31st, 2018, 01:53 PM   #1
Ninjette Newsbot
All the news that's fit to excerpt
 
Ninjette Newsbot's Avatar
 
Name: newsie
Location: who knows?
Join Date: Jun 2008

Motorcycle(s): only digital replicas

Posts: Too much.
[RideApart] - That Motorcycle Column - Heated Gripes

That Motorcycle Column - Heated Gripes

Wherein Peter tells us that New Years Day rides are too cold to be fun. Probably.

Hey friends! Today we're rolling out a new monthly feature called "That Motorcycle Column" by legendary moto journalist Peter Jones. Every month-ish, starting today, Peter will regale us with a new story informed by his decades of screwing around with and writing about motorcycles. So sit back, grab a beverage, and enjoy the inaugural post of That Motorcycle Column - JM

Santa Claus does not ride a motorcycle. Well, maybe I should qualify that; Santa does not deliver Christmas presents on a motorcycle, and has never been seen riding a motorcycle in the snow. I say this regardless of me having a Christmas ornament that disputes it. I also say this to show that Santa has good judgment.

I've been a member of various motorcycle communities over the years that have annual New Year’s Day rides. These communities have been as far north as Syracuse, New York, and as far south as the mountains of North Carolina. I have at times lived further south than that, but, south of that, winter isn’t a thing so neither are New Year’s Day rides. People just ride.


Pictured - Not SantaThe good news is that I currently live in North Carolina, not New York or Minnesota. The bad news is, since I do not live near the coast but 400 miles west of the ocean in the Appalachian Mountains, it gets cold and sometimes even snows here. Unlike Syracuse, when it snows in North Carolina everything is closed and the world basically ceases to exist. Everyone just waits at home for the snow to melt, which takes about one to three days. The town I live in has a snow plow just for emergencies. It's a pick-up truck. It’s adorable.

Personally I hate the cold, so I dislike snow simply by association. Snow is actually pretty and a fascinating phenomenon, but unfortunately cold is required for snow, so I’m against it. Cold also means ice.

Other riders consider combining cold weather and vehicles that balance on two wheels an annual challenge of purposeful suffering, a challenge to be faced each year with these New Year’s Day rides. In Syracuse there is no weather bad enough that they don’t go for a ride on the correct day. Some even ride regularly on snow and ice, having driven dozens of screws into their bike’s tires. In the Carolinas though, cold and ice and snow force all commerce to be postponed, even that of four-wheeled things.

This year, the Ashville Sport Riders Group invited me on its annual ride, a ride that met up at the Hendersonville Airport. I met up, then I went home. It’s a great group, and it wasn’t even at all cold out on the postponed day, but while driving a car the day prior I saw that the roads were still white with brine. I just won’t do that to my bike. As for whether or not Santa would have joined them, well, he hasn’t so far. I do confess though that I have seen him at Sturgis.


Staging at the airportI love my motorcycles and I love riding them, but I’m a crybaby when it comes to winter. This has caused me to wonder if cold might not affect each of us differently. For instance, my brother and his wife, who live in New England, respectively wear a pair of shorts and a summer dress all year round. When the weather goes below 12-degrees Fahrenheit with a five-mile an hour-plus wind, they might each reach for a light jacket. It hurts me to simply witness this.

Years ago, before I had the sense to leave the frozen wasteland of the North East for good, I owned a few goats. I still remember being out in the barn one winter night, giving them fresh bedding and hay. It was about 2-above zero. Their breath was thick butts in the frozen air, their winter coats full, and their tails wagging. Pausing to appreciate this scene, it amazed me that they did not trample me to death and then make their way into the house for a night of central heating and marathon Animal Planet viewing. These cloven-hoofed bleaters fascinated me by showing how far different the metabolism is between different mammals.

I recently noticed that heated grips are available for my bike. Maybe…

More from RideApart:
     Related Stories
 


Click here for full story...
__________________________________________________
I'm a bot. I don't need no stinkin' signature...
Ninjette Newsbot is offline   Reply With Quote




Reply




Similar Threads
Thread Thread Starter Forum Replies Last Post
[RideApart] - Introducing Perpetual Motion - A Regular RideApart Column Ninjette Newsbot Motorcycling News 0 December 28th, 2017 07:50 AM
[RideApart] - A Returning Writer, a New Column, and a New Product from ROAME Ninjette Newsbot Motorcycling News 0 April 4th, 2016 08:20 AM
[webbikeworld.com] - Mobile Warming Longmen Heated Shirt and Softshell Heated Vest Re Ninjette Newsbot Motorcycling News 0 November 16th, 2012 10:10 AM
Gripes about Gear camaroz1985 Motorcycle Gear 4 April 28th, 2009 09:22 AM
[webbikeworld.com] - Warmthru G3 Battery Heated Gloves and Battery Heated Glove Liner Ninjette Newsbot Motorcycling News 0 February 1st, 2009 08:43 AM


Thread Tools

Posting Rules
You may not post new threads
You may not post replies
You may not post attachments
You may not edit your posts

BB code is On
Smilies are On
[IMG] code is On
HTML code is Off

Forum Jump


Motorcycle Safety Foundation

All times are GMT -7. The time now is 10:26 AM.


Website uptime monitoring Host-tracker.com
Powered by vBulletin®
Copyright ©2000 - 2024, Jelsoft Enterprises Ltd.
User Alert System provided by Advanced User Tagging (Lite) - vBulletin Mods & Addons Copyright © 2024 DragonByte Technologies Ltd.
Except where otherwise noted, all site contents are © Copyright 2022 ninjette.org, All rights reserved.