Well, it’s coming up on that time of year again. Colder temps and less favourable riding conditions. Here are a few things to keep in mind.

Riding below 10C without proper gear can be unpleasant at best; at worst it can lead to hypothermia, which is extremely dangerous and once temperatures hit the freezing mark there are even further dangers. Not only do you need to worry about body heat, but must also consider the fact that when the road and your tires are cold, there is a significant drop in available grip.

The only way to survive cold weather riding is to plan for it and ensure that you have the right gear; some of which include the following:

1) Electric heated vest and gloves.
2) Fleece sweater
3) Fleece-lined jeans (or heavy rain pants with at least one additional layer like long-johns underneath).
4) Windproof & waterproof textile jacket & pants
5) Waterproof boots over wool socks
6) FLEECE NECK LINER

Adding handguards to your bike will help keep the worst of the wind and weather off your hands. They’re great in the cold but in rain they really don’t do anything to keep you dry.

#6 is important because your brain gets it blood from the carotid artery which is near the surface of the skin, right on the front of your neck where it can be in the direct wind blast. The last thing you want is to be chilling your brain, so ensure that your neck is completely covered one way or another.

Unless you REALLY enjoy the idea of crashing and dumping your bike, you should avoid riding on snow or ice. It’s amazing how fast a bike can get away from you on those slippery surfaces. Even if there’s no apparent snow or ice on the ground, take careful note of stuff like frost on streetcar tracks. Avoid areas in the shade when you can, and be extra careful on bridges. You should also avoid conditions that may ideal for black ice.

Oh ya…never forget that your tires will be very cold. As such, you will have far less grip and should avoid spirited cornering.

If you do ride in cold and/or wet weather and end up really chilled where you can’t stop shivering, your hands and knees are numb or in pain, your lips are bluish, then you are in fact becoming hypothermic. This can be extremly dangerous as your body begins to shut down; your reflexes are deminushed and your ability for rational thought is greatly reduced. If this begins during your ride, you should take a break and try and warm up. Here are a couple of tips for recovery when you get home:

1) You need to get heat into your body. Start with a hot drink or some soup. Keep your warm clothes on, maybe some of your gear too until you feel warm.

2) The best thing is to take a hot BATH. Fill the tub with water as hot as you can stand it, and get in there. You will notice that it feels very hot at first, but in a short time it won’t feel very hot anymore. This is for two reasons: The first is because as you warm up your perception of heat will change. The second is because you just basically tossed 100-200 pounds of chilled meat into that tub, and your cold body will bring down the temperature of the bathwater as the heat is tranferred to you. As soon as the water doesn’t feel hot, either top it up or replace it with hotter water.

3) If you don’t have access to a tub, a shower can be OK, but BE CAREFUL. The shower will heat the surface of your skin very quickly but it’s not that effective at transferring a lot of heat to your body. You have to understand that to protect your core’s temperature when you were very cold, your body decreased circulation to your arms and legs. When your skin is warmed, your body starts sending more blood out to your arms and legs, which feels great at first. However, the muscles in your arms and legs are still chilled, and the blood travelling through them gets cooled and that cooled blood goes back to your core and can make your core temp actually DROP shortly after starting this hot shower. This isn’t the end of the world, but you should be expecting it. If you’re using a shower to warm up, then start with the water not quite so hot and warm it up gradually. If you start shivering even though the water is hot, then you know what’s going on. Turn up the heat and stay in there until you are thoroughly warmed up!

Whether you’re using a bath, shower, hot soup, blankets, or gettin’ it on as your way of warming up, keep doing it until you’re actually sweating. That’s the only way to know that you’re properly warmed up, and your body will thank you for it.

BE AWARE of the symptoms of hypothermia when you’re riding in cold and especially in wet weather. The initial signs (before you’re in real danger) include:

1) Bouts of shivering
2) Grogginess and muddled thinking
3) Breathing and pulse are normal

#2 is the killer there when you’re piloting a motorcycle. You’ll feel tired and lethargic, have trouble keeping your eyes open. So the thing to remember is that if you’re shivering persistently on your bike, you can’t trust your judgement! Stop and get a bowl of chilli or soup, and a hot coffee or tea. If you are riding through the night, think seriously about just stopping and getting a room in a motel somewhere. $60 and a night of inconvenience is a lot less hassle than crashing.

You know that you MUST stop if you’re having any of the following symptoms:

1) Violent shivering or shivering stops
2) Inability to think and pay attention
3) Slow, shallow breathing
4) Slow, weak pulse

Again, #2 is a big complicating factor. If you’re having trouble keeping your eyes open or staying in your lane, if it seems like you’ve been riding forever but you’ve only done 2 km since the last time you checked the odometer, then you’re experiencing impairment from the cold. STOP at your earliest opportunity and get warmed up!

Lets consider once agian your tires and road conditions. At lower temps, your tires are rock hard and grip is drastically reduced. Also if temps are within a couple of degrees of freezing, you might want to consider alternative transportation. Frost / Ice / Snow = CRASH. Usually so fast you don’t even get a chance to know you are going down before you are on your butt or worse…