The Season

[sickpup]

As remarked in another thread many people are of the belief that riding a motorcycle is seasonal. Now I can understand why Northerners might believe there is a riding season but I find to hard to understand why those who live in the warmer climes of the midlands and down think there is one.

So those who think there is a season please explain your reasoning to a southerner who doesn't think there is?

[Doovy]

I class it as the 2011 season, the 2012 season, the 2013 season.. and so on, and so forth
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[BigShow]

[Whosthedaddy]

I enjoy riding all year, yes when wet and windy not as fun and still need to get better gear, but, it still doesn't make me regret using the bike.
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[DrDonnyBrago]

Ah, a heavily loaded sickpup question, like a baited mousetrap waiting to be unleashed, been a while.

I've only ever heard Americans refer to a riding season. As far as American failings go, it's relatively minor.

[wr6133]

I've always thought the "seasonal" thing down here (Wiltshire) is subscribed to by people that are less interested in bikes/biking but very interested in using a shiny "toy" to show off their wealth.

[chris-red]

Because riding when it is freezing cold and wet isn't as fun, I have Probably ~£1000 worth of kit/mods to help with the cold and I still much prefer riding in the summer, however I ride every day because 30 minutes on the bike in the cold beats 90 minutes walk/train/train/walk.

Not everyone needs to ride, most people who only ride for fun would not have spent all the extra money on winterizing themselves so it would be even worse.
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[Snowdonia Rider]

Some people don't like rain, like car drivers who turn into excessively slow mongs when a drop of rain lands on their window.
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[esullivan]

I ride all year, to get to work. But I think there is a season, where you hop on the bike and ride for hours, with no particular destination, just for fun. That isn't what you do in January and February.

I'm originally from New York City and Boston. Now, those cities definitely have seasons. I just came back from there a couple of weeks ago, helping my parents dig out from more than seven feet of snow, with daytime high temperatures of -12. It's not motorcycle weather, but snowmobiles are quite popular...
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[TheArchitect]

Unless it's snowing or heavily frosted roads I ride all year round as my only alternative is the stinking tube!
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[Matt B]

[Suntan Sid]

We live in Buxton, on the cusp of the north and the midlands.
The "Season" can be monitored easily, by our house at least, by the number of Harleys chugging around the roundabout near our front door.
In the high "season", at weekends, the windows in our house vibrate to the tune of countless, highly polished, American iron horses, teetering through the bendy bits of the A6, between here and Bakewell.
Due to the lack of said activity, I can only conclude the "season" has not started yet!
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[lihp]

[weasley]

OK, I'll bite.

I don't specifically identify a "season" as such, but I don't ride all year. I live in the south and have an 18 year old bike worth less than £1,000.

Most of the riding that I do do is weekends away or an opportunistic hour or two out at the weekends, with the occasional commute. I have ridden in the winter and I keep the bike road-ready all year round, but I don't have decent cold/wet kit. I don't mind riding in the wet either - I find it a challenge of skill, but I don't seek it out.

I have a car that I drive to work. My commute is quite dull and not really improved by taking the bike. If I do take it then I will usually take the scenic route home, which is a nice end to the day, but I can't just drift home at my own pace as I need to get home to deal with kids, wife and associated stuff. Also, if I take the bike I have to pack my laptop and clothes to change into, then get changed at work. In the summer I usually need a shower when I get to work too, which all adds to the faff and any time saved on the bike is lost in the messing about.

I am also a terrible bike cleaner. I don't want to have to either cover it in waxy crap for the winter, and then wash it off, or have to rinse it off every time it has been out on a damp, salty road. I don't want to be unseizing brake pistons and replacing downpipes.

I know this makes me the antithesis of some 'bikers', but I don't class myself as a biker. I class myself as a guy with a bike - I use it when it suits me and I enjoy it when I use it. It's a selfish hobby, an add-on to my life, it doesn't define me.

Kudos to the year-round road warriors and all the skills you are developing. I know I am rusty when I get the bike out and I take this into account. So far, so good.
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[Rogerborg]

[Dave70]

[Motorhate]

[matlow]

what a load of arse, I ride all year round so i'm a hero/vigilante/SAS sargeant major. have a chat, i have and can ride all year round but thank fuck for the car when i dont want to /have to.

Its like saying i wrote out an entire essay rather than typed it into a computer because i'm a fucking literary assassin.

some see biking as a hobby and therefore quite rightly see it as "seasonal" and think sod it when hurricane probably fall off and die is blowing a hooly outside!

riding when the weather is shit doesnt make you better harder stronger more committed to the cause.
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[MarJay]

I don't ride for a job. I don't do it unless it's fun. It's not fun when it's raining and when there is a possibility of ice.

It's not hard to understand is it?
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[grr666]

So is this really a thinly veiled 'Who's a proper biker then?' thread?
So those without the means to run alternative transport can point the finger and laugh at 'lesser' riders who
drive nice warm cars when the weather is bad, to make themselves feel better about other shortfalls in their own lives?

Guilty as charged! But guilt is sooooooo warm and dry with heated seats
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[c-m]

No season for me, just like I don't have a season for work or buying groceries, or taking a dump.

[MarJay]

[Amber Phoenix]

I ride all year around, commuting into London everyday. TBF the weather in London never gets that bad and is always a bit warmer than outside the M25. Sure, riding in the wet and dark are less fun, but are still a hell of lot more pleasant than spending twice as long on a packed tube/train/bus and walk to/from stations either end.

I've acquired enough decent winter gear over the years and am rarely cold, even when it is freezing out. It's only on longer rides of more than a couple of hours do I start to get a bit nippy.

In fact, a dry winters day can actually be great on the bike. Roads tend to be quieter and you're usually pretty snug and warm from the layers. Of course, if it's a bit wet, damp, frosty or icy, I'll take it more steady and be wary of patches of road left in shadow.

Ultimately, I deem riding in different weather condition valuable skills to acquire. I just can't understand those who avoid the wet.
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[Musketeer]

To me the season starts when riding is fun and ends when it's not.

Riding in freezing cold is not fun and in nice warm weather it is, therefore the biking season and its reoccurrences are closely connected with yearly temperature patterns.

I hope I made myself clear
If not then blame the fact I was not born British
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[Polarbear]

I have an expensive bike that I ride for fun. If I get wet it's because I get caught out in the rain when riding, I don't do it out of choice. I don't mind getting wet when I'm off touring but for a weekend ride, if it looks like rain the bike stays in the garage.

I think it's an age thing for me as when I was younger I really didn't mind riding in the rain or the cold with the correct gear.

Now though it's a fun thing and I have to admit, other than riding to Triumph to have a service my Trophy hadn't turned a wheel in the last four months, until last weekend
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