Northern vs Southern State Riders

[MikeB]

Y'all northerners can slip into some electric gear for the cold stuff, but I can guarantee you there is no way to stay comfortable at 100°+ with 90%+ humidity.

Nope, not at 90%, but out here where midsummer humidity sometimes hits single digits the combination of an evaporative vest under a mesh jacket is the practical equivalent of air conditioning. I've been completely comfortable at temps exceeding 100F. (Well, OK, feet, knees and hands are cooking but the body core stays cool which is the important thing.)

But mostly I head for the delightfully cool Sierra on summer rides. Combine that with generally mild winters, and I guess we have it pretty good climate-wise out here on the left coast.

Not to mention radically curvy, mostly deserted mountain roads rolling under cobalt blue skies through fragrant pine forests, past crystalline alpine lakes and.....

Nyaah, nyaah, nyaah.

Honestly, I'm a transplanted midwesterner (Ohio) who didn't know what to expect here, but now I believe that if they ever do a motorcycle-themed remake of "Field of Dreams" at the part when the long-dead biker looks around and asks, "Is this heaven?" he will be told, "No, it's Norcal."

[kokopellioh]

Here in Phoenix AZ, I was up on my scooter every month last year, and hope to be up on the Shadow every month this year. Going home during "rush" hour in triple-digit heat for months on end will make you wish you'd gotten rid of that spare tire in the spring, however.

[MikeAstringer]

I agree. I started riding again last weekend after not riding since November. It did take a few miles to feel as one with the bike again. I'm also buried in work, working 16 hour + days, working 7 days per week, traveling between Philadelphia and Boston every week and not sleeping much (between Monday and Wednesday this past week I slept 11 hours) so my brain is a bid clouded anyway.

I made a very stupid newbie mistake yesterday and it was simple exhaustion and not paying attention. I was sitting at a red light to make a left turn. This is an intersection I've been through a thousand times. For some reason I thought the left turn signal always turned green before the light. My brain was convinced of this. When the light turned green I only saw green and with my mind thinking the left turn signal was going to turn green first I proceeded to make my turn. As I started the turn I realized there was a large box truck in my face. I then looked up and saw that the left turn signal was red and everyone else had the green. I hit the brakes HARD and lost my balance. I didn't drop the bike but I made a very strange move as it started to go down. So here's me, in the middle of the intersection, trying to keep the bike from falling with two lanes of traffic in my face beeping their horns. Talk about embarassment! Good thing I was wearing the full face because of the cold and no one I know could potentially see who I was!!

[MikeAstringer]

Originally Posted by kokopellioh

Here in Phoenix AZ, I was up on my scooter every month last year, and hope to be up on the Shadow every month this year. Going home during "rush" hour in triple-digit heat for months on end will make you wish you'd gotten rid of that spare tire in the spring, however.

I've told this story here before but the southwestern heat is why I sold my bike 15+ years ago and didn't ride for years. I was living in Nevada, young, had two kids and my ex-wife and I didn't have much money at the time. My ex-wife had a car and I rode my bike everywhere. I was riding home from work on a summer day in 100+ degree temps. While sitting at a red light, with a helmet on and sucking the exhaust fumes of the car in front of me I suddenly felt like I was going to pass out. I was so sure I was going down I put the kickstand on the bike down so only one of us would hopefully fall. Shortly thereafter I sold my bike and bought a car with air conditioning!

When I moved from NJ to NV I thought I'd love riding in the heat as I prefer the heat over the cold. When I lived in NJ I rode the bike every day year round unless there was snow or ice. I had about a 30 minute ride to work. I thought riding year round in Nevada would be a breeze. I learned quickly that was not the case. When it gets to be 100 degrees and above your head is baking in a helmet and it makes the exhaust fumes from cars that much more intense.

[adlowe]

Originally Posted by 7s1amma7

Wasnt trying to be rude with my earlier comment. Just my way of saying there is no way I could do it.

No problem. Tell you what: I couldn't ride in 10° if it came in July or August. I probably couldn't do it if it came over our last winter. But in a normal winter around here, after we've had 3 weeks with a daytime high temps below 0°, it would be easy.