Riding in Challenging Weather or Difficult Situations

Cold Weather Riding
Living in Alaska, we are not blessed with warm riding weather most of the year. Our typical riding lately has us frequently having to contend with colder, wetter weather, which brings with it new challenges for motorcyclists, including fog, rain, cold, sand and mud, icy roads, and medication.

FOG: If you have lived around here for any time at all you know that this time of year you can turn a corner and go from bright sunshine (huh) to fog so thick you can barely see your handgrips.
The most obvious danger is lack of visibility. The drivers around you can't see you and you can't see them. It's tough to drive defensively when you haven't got a clue where you are or what is going on around you. It's easy to ride off the edge of the road, to hit a curve faster than you should, or to enter an intersection at the wrong time. Also, parked vehicles and other obstacles will leap out of the fog into your lap. Since fog makes the road wetter, your available traction drops, adding to braking and cornering problems.
The bottom line is fog is dangerous, if you can't see two seconds ahead of you, you need to pull over and get off your bike.

RAIN: Have you seen any rain lately??? It's often said the most dangerous part of a rainstorm is the beginning, as the rain lifts the old oil and grease out of the pavement. The combination of water and oil makes the road surface so slick that braking and turning become almost a fond hope. It is important to increase following distances and decrease speed to give yourself plenty of time to avoid anything that might cross your path. If you can, when it starts to rain, find a place to pull off and at least wait until the rain has washed the slippery stuff away.
Even without surface oil, a wet road is a dangerous place. Hydroplaning is caused by your tires moving so fast across the wet road surface that they do not have sufficient time to channel that moisture away from the center of the tire. The result is that the tire is lifted by the water away from the road and traction disappears completely. The problem is worsened by having worn tires, so if your tires are at all suspect, now is a good time to buy new ones. Remember, a new set of tires is usually less than half of most people's collision deductibles.
If you are going to ride when, or where it may rain, invest in some sort of rain gear. The increased hazards caused by rainy weather are amplified if you are miserable, cold and wet. Your ability to perceive and react to dangers is drastically diminished when you are distracted by a torrent of cold water pouring down your back, freezing hands and feet, and the sting of raindrops hitting your face at 50 or 60 miles per hour.

COLD: It's important to dress for it. Layer your clothing so you can add or take off layers as the temperature and surroundings change. Make sure you have proper raingear if there's a chance it's going to be wet, since wet gear makes for miserable riding. Make sure your footwear is waterproof, and carry spare socks in a Ziploc bag. Toss a couple of pairs of latex gloves in the same bag, as they make good glove liners by acting as a vapor barrier.
The most important thing is to keep your torso and head well covered and warm. Loss of core body temperature can lead to hypothermia with a resulting loss of judgment and reaction time. When riding in cold weather make sure to stop and warm up anytime you feel the cold starting to dull your senses.

SAND AND MUD: Anywhere there is construction, or a hillside in this area, which is almost everywhere these days, rainy weather leads to sand and mud being dragged out onto the roadways. Construction vehicles pick the stuff up on their tires, leaving muddy tracks on the roads, and sudden downpours cause runoff which brings part of the hillside with it. Be aware when you enter areas where sand and mud can be expected and cut your speed to conserve traction.

ICY ROADS: If you tell yourself that you would never ride in the snow, so ice on the roads should not be a problem you're kidding yourself. The most dangerous conditions you will ever encounter are lurking in the shadows around a curve on a crisp winter morning when the sun is so warm you feel you almost don't need a jacket, and on highway overpasses or bridge decks.
Anytime the night-time temperature drops below 40, there is a possibility of running into a patch of ice on a shaded curve, or a frozen surface overlying the steel structure of a highway overpass. If you can't wait until 11:00 a.m or later, just be cautious entering the curves and make sure you pay close attention to how your traction feels on the highway. If you feel the back tire slipping, make no sudden changes in what you're doing. Straighten up and slow down gradually until you feel secure again.

ILLNESS and MEDICATION: This may be stating the obvious, but if you have a cold, whether or not you are medicated, you're not at your best or sharpest. Any inner ear problem will affect your balance, and any medication will make you less alert. No matter how much you may want to take a little ride to get out of the house - don't.