Do any of you still enjoy riding in crap weather?

[notbike]

tl;dr - How many of you actually still enjoy riding in crap weather/winter? Do any of you dislike it/try to avoid it? Discuss.

Starting to find it boring/chore-ish myself unless I'm riding with a few mates. Look outside in the morning, see crap, decide I cant be fucked to ride that day. Done about 1.5k miles since mid October, which is less than other winters. The ONLY time I ride on my own in winter now is if I have to go somewhere or do something.

Even noticed a trend among my bike mates where once it starts getting colder, the only time we ride together is to ride to some random food joint in central London so we can make noise and stuff our faces (while also getting stuck in a lot of traffic and overheating our engines).

Never really 'liked' riding in crap weather, but was more tolerant of it back when biking was new and I wanted to ride no matter how much rain or snow there was.

Being more tolerant of shitty riding conditions back then probably had something to do with those conditions appearing every day on the winter commute. With the bike being my only alternative to public transport, the mentality went something like "well I ride in this weather all the time anyway so fuck it".

Now I don't commute anymore (walk to work), or ride in shit weather daily for extended periods of time (throwback to pizza boy days), I really can't be bothered for crappy rainy cold bollocks grandpa riding. My chicken strips are thiiiiiiis big in winter, and anything lower than mostly upright or faster than mildly spirited feels more sketchy and kills the vibe.

Having said all that I cannot wait for the clocks to go back in March.
And then summer, oh glorious summer. Even flipping 7 degrees and a few less clouds will do tbh

Thoughts?

[Azoth]

Are you commuting? Shorter rides, urban rides, straight-line rides, lane-filtering-as-principal-advantage rides, rush hour rides, popping out to the shops, etc. are all a bit humdrum and are never really fun. They're drudgery, that's all. The roads are wettish around my way - they don't dry in this weather, but it's mainly water, not diesel or oil, so it's not as bad as it looks.
What you really mean is weekend riding... Lots of little, controllable slides happen all the time but mostly at low speeds, and I'm not caning it but not pottering along either. The rural fun rides are still fun but a bit cold. If I take my favourite roads and go for a 2-hour ride, where the engine gets up to temp and run in the higher revs, the extreme outside edges of the tyres may not be touched but I'll still get to use 75% of the tread across the tyre anyway. So yes, if I go out looking for fun I'll find it, but otherwise not. If there were a layer of snow on the roads I'd give it a miss.
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[ZX-7R]

Fucking hate it.Never minded it so much 30 odd years ago as a teen,but now i just use the bike for work during winter.Novelty of riding in all weather wore off a long time ago.

Roll on milder weather when i can teach myself how to lean a bike round a corner again lol.
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[FretGrinder]

Inb4 Bodytard "I do eleventy billion miles a week in all weathers and you're all a bunch of pussies, Fite me", etc.
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[Wafer_Thin_Ham]

Riding in crap weather is wank. I've not ridden since December.
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[Stalk]

When it's hororbly cold and wet, no. When its crisp and clear, its ok. Getting better now I'm starting to see that orange ball thing in the mornings. So, yes and no, two days are never the same. I will admit to having had 5 odd days on four wheels, because over 50

[wr6133]

I've not really done many "fun" miles this winter. Just commuting.

[grr666]

Beta fag here posting from the warmth of my kitchen. Winter is what god invented log burners for.
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[Teflon-Mike]

I'm a trials rider. And when I started it, many still called it a 'winter' sport.
riding in the crap, for fun? HELL YEAH!

Where's the challenge when the mud's gone hard and you have all the traction you could want?
CoC's have to get devious and if they cant find a deep water feature to try drown us, set the course up a set of rock steps under a waterfall or something!

ROAD RIDING.. well, that's usually a 'chore' regardless. Public roads aren't where I go looking for that sort of 'fun' to start with.... you don't get very much of it, and if you do, well, it's where points don't get you prizes, but cost cash monies... it IS just a way to get to work... which isn't much fun, usually, so why would you expect the getting there, dealing with half awake idiots in sardine tins gnawing at thier steering wheels, to be?

Want that sort of 'fun' go do it at the track, where points mean prizes and there's a meat waggon on stand by!

Public roads can be fun, and I DO find them more fun than the track these days... tearing around and around in circles, contemplating pennies for a new pair of tyres and trying to straighten handlebars on a bumper with a brick, tends to get pretty 'old' pretty fast..... public roads? The adventure of riding a different bit all the time.. exploring, going new places... rather than pushing the limits in the same old ones, over and over again.

In that? weather can make a big difference, and it generally IS more pleasant when the sun shines.... BUT, different bits of the country look totally different in different weathers, in different seasons, and different lights.. winter means short daylight hours so you don't get so much time to see as much, but what you can see, can be pretty stunning, and something you will never get to witness as a sunny day seasonal rider....

So, yeah... its all in your attitude and approach and expectations... seasons and weather make little difference, you CAN, with the right attitude and expectation find the fun in it regardless....

Fact you don't... suggests its not the weather that's bad, or the season that's wrong... so what can you 'change' and what do you just have to 'accept'?
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[Dave70]

I use the bike for commuting but, it's not fun. 90+% of the time it's quite unsettling, as there's a shed load of roundabouts on route that are usually quite slippy due to (in part) to the amount of diesel on them, as it's a main route for HGV's due to the industrial estates.

I haven't been on the bike just for the fun of it for ages, until about a week ago, when I went for a night time blast after finishing work, as I had the urge to. Then about 20 minutes into it, it started to rain heavily, so I ended up doing a U turn and heading back home.

Roll on summer or at least spring.
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[linuxyeti]

Yes, absolutely ! Especially in heavy snow, and strong winds, not as keen on rain, but men ! Icy conditions can be a bit of a challenge as well
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[ThatDippyTwat]

Enjoy? Not as much as summer by any means, but shit, it beats being in a car, walking, cycling or a bloody bus.
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[grr666]

Balls to that, I've got my doggie needing walking each day in the winter, that's quite enough cold wet and mud for me.
Nearly wheeled the steed out of the shed last week, but it will probably be the scoot that sees the light of day first,
I've a pair of new non lethal tyres that need to be fitted to it.
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[BumpingUglys]

[Enduro Numpty]

I rode in all weather all year round for years because my bike was my only means of transport till I was nearly 30. I now use my bikes for pleasure only. I don't believe there are too many bikers that actually prefer riding in cold and wet rather than warm and dry. If there's any possibility of ice I don't ride, I'd rather not ride in the rain and if I'm planning an all day run on the bike then unless I have to ride I'd cancel. If I just want a couple of hours on local roads, unless it's torrential I'd likely go out. I keep at least one bike legal throughout winter and get out as often as weather allows.

[waffles]

The last time I went out on a bike was Boxing Day.

I hate feeling cold, I hate getting wet and I loathe cleaning all of the road grime and salt off the bike when I get home. I have a car and frequently need to ferry boxes of books to and from work so I don't have to use the bike to commute, instead I can get to work in a warm cosy car and just stroll in rather than shake myself out and curl up next to the heater until I can feel my face again. On weekends if it is grey or raining or snowing I dont automatically think "wow, I need to be out in that!".

In short, no. I do not enjoy riding in crap weather.
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Past rides Yamaha XT125X, Triumph TT600, Honda XR250
Current rides Suzuki GSXR 600, Honda MSX125

[andyscooter]

used to but don't like getting the bikes dirty now
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[Nobby the Bastard]

Do I do astronomical distances every week on my bike regardless of the weather? yes.

Do I enjoy it? No as such, especially when its dark and raining and I can't see shit. It does, however, save me fuck loads of time.
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trevor saxe-coburg-gotha:"Remember this simple rule - scooters are for men who like to feel the breeze on their huge, flapping cunt lips."
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[notbike]

Glad it's not just me then. Winter maintenance is also a huge chore now.

[Nobby the Bastard]

This is from a weeks commuting. I don't remember riding through a field...

https://i.imgur.com/etWkWZI.jpg
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trevor saxe-coburg-gotha:"Remember this simple rule - scooters are for men who like to feel the breeze on their huge, flapping cunt lips."
Sprint ST 1050

[kgm]

I still enjoymy commuting most of the time but I don't have huge distances to go, no motorways and traffic isn't too bad. I normally use the 125 for commuting in winter too so it still feel likeidm chucking it about a little unlike the big bike which needs to be going faster for that experience.

I don't so many leisure rides though out winter though. Normally only a couple with friends and they're usually enjoyable enough provided it's not raining heavily. A few brief showers is fine. In summer I can ride a properly rainy day and enjoy it but in winter it becomea fairly bleak quickly.

What I hate most about winter is the maintenance. It's fine if mm I'm using the bike every day but if it's sat for just a day or two without the chain having been cleaned and lubed after the last ride it rusts really quickly. Brake calipers crud up and become furry really quickly. Brake disks look horrible. The rest isn't too bad as long as I clean it once a week and have acf 50 applied. The chain is the worst bit. I work shifts so it's not really practical to clean and lube every ride. Especially without a garage when it's starting to rain or snow. I'd like a shafty or belt for winter.

[Pete.]

Can't say I particularly enjoy riding in the crap and the cold but it still beats driving into London in the van. I dare say if I was working in SE London instead of SW I would actually take the van as the time saving would cease to out-weigh the risk and discomfort.
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a.k.a 'Geri'

132.9mph off and walked away. Gear is good, gear is good, gear is very very good

[definitelyinc...]

Yes, the other week I was lucky to get around 10 degrees in the evening, had a blast around a-roads with a friend, "chicken strips" were narrowed down to 1cm or so, though predominately it's rather boring cause wet and cold and 3 jumpers if you want to go for a ride.

[Hong Kong Phooey]

49 weeks a year riding on average. Mostly give it a miss on the worst days and take the car.

If there's ice forget it. Anything above 3 degrees is fine but I'm under 15 mins commute. Agree with Waffles, washing off salt is a chore.

Rain doesn't bother PR4's much.

It's all enjoyable for me, but if forced by necessity to do the worst days on a longer run in minus temperatures I can see that would grind.
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[Poecilotheria]

Yeah sometimes, it depends really on how bad it is. Snow is about the only thing I wont ride in when they start putting grit on the roads.
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