Yesterday the family was loading into the car for a trip to the in-laws for Christmas Eve festivities. I ask the wife what the weather was supposed to be like tomorrow .... she says just like today, cold but dry.

So I point to the bike in the corner of garage and say "I'm takin you for a ride tomorrow!"

"Who's gonna watch Josh?" she asks.

confused, I reply with "what are you talking about?"

In her sweet voice she inquires "who's watching Josh when we go for a ride?"

"You're watching him, I was talking to the bike!" I shoot back.

She barks "You're an *******!" and gets in the car.

....................
24 hours later, I bundled up and rolled the Nightster out to warm up. With an outside temp hovering just above 35 degrees, I took what will most likely be the last ride of the year and enjoyed it. This was my first ride in about two months after breaking the ring finger on my left hand, I could not pull the clutch lever with the brace I was wearing. I was able to able to operate it pretty good today, but still got a few shooting pains while shifting.

 

That is a good story man. How cold does it get in Chicago over the winter? I ride year round here in the D.C. area wit temps going to 18 degrees.

 

Still riding..

 

Used to live in Virginia and love DC ... but the winter in the CHI ... doubt you'd be riding in it.

So far though, it has been mild this year. Had a slew of damn cold days that get sprinkeld with a couple warmer ones like we have now ... definitely not the norm. Also, no real snow yet so the salt trucks are still parked .. that makes a big difference!

I don't expect it to stay this way. Also did not say I was done riding ... just said might be last ride of the year ... only one week left this year.

Enjoy your ride; stay warm.

MC24

 

To answer specifically, it can get pretty darn chilly here with negative temps. This year, we have not seen it. Coldest we have had so far this year is low 20s.

Last year, I rode around the 18-20 mark .. and recall the bugercicles i had hanging from my nose after getting to work quite clearly. I have a 3/4 w shield that stopped most of the wind, but not the temperature and the lower 1/4 of the shield was iced up.

Not sure how much I will get the bike out this winter .. will depend on if we get snow or not .. I can say once the salt hits the ground, I'm done. Had a close call a couple months back with gravel on the blacktop as I took a turn ... figure hitting patches of salt would be pretty similar ... not something I want to do again.

Also, just getting the use back in my left hand after breaking a finger. Was able to shift pretty good today, but still hurt a bit squeezing the clutch. Think it needs to heal a bit more.

Ride safe out there.

 

Rise safely too! Didn't you have a very bad snow storm last year? I remember seeing videos of very bad weather in the Chicago area.

 

Don't get me wrong.. once there is salt on these roads, I'm done for a couple months. We've had abnormally warmer days aswell. I just can't put her away

 

I'm in NoVa and I was surprised to have 60 degrees last week. I hope that it's not gonna turn into Antarctic in January.

 

I'm straight West of Chicago, just over the border in Iowa, and we've been having similar temps. I can't believe it's the end of December and I'm still able to ride, it almost hit 50 yesterday, and I plan on getting out a bit today. Enjoy it, we'll be knee deep in it pretty soon. Once they salt, I'm done until we get a few good rain showers in the Spring to wash it all away.

If this is what "global warming" is all about... keep it coming!

 

Funny thing, I was just telling the wife that I was going to go for a ride today, then I saw this thread and showed it to her. She laughed. It is sunny and in the low 40s, after all the rain we had l few days ago, all the bad stuff is off the roads for now.