I got my Winter Solstice ride done!
My intention is to do the series of 4 rides, on the two Solstices and the 2 Equinoxes, so that I can earn the all Season rider certificate. I figured I would start on the toughest and get the Winter one done first, in my climate 12/21 can be a real challenge, not to mention the fact that this is the shortest, darkest day of the year so a lot of this ride would be in the darkness. Pennsylvania weather is very variable and we can have anything that time of year, feet of snow and sub zero temps are a distinct possibility, so is warm and wet, or freezing rain, or sleet, or all sorts of other 'fun' conditions, which means that this isn't a ride that can be done every year starting at home. I actually attempted this ride a year ago and aborted 1 mile from home, my 08 was apart for maintenance and my 16 refused to start. I spent an hour fighting with it with jumpers and chargers and finally got it running but then 1/2 way to the gas station I reconsidered heading off into 24F 0300 darkness on a less than reliable machine, and it turned out I was right, the battery failed for good soon afterwards. I quickly put my 08 back together and did the Santasore ride on it 4 days later and that ended last year.
This time around the weather looked good, COLD but dry and that is crucial, I can work with cold but ice and snow can be a challenge, and so can freezing rain and freezing fog. No precipitation was in the forecast for any areas along my ride, south of my turn around it was raining heavily on the radar but it was not supposed to head north, it was close but OK so that was good. It was forecast to be 20F on 12/21 in the early AM.. cold but manageable. You would think heading south it would get warmer but what you don't see is that as you go that way you are headed into the mountains and after warming slightly to 24F as I neared Harrisburg, PA the temp started to drop again. From that point on I81 goes up into the mountains and it gets colder as you get higher and the weather gets more unpredictable, especially in southern Virginia near Roanoke and Blacksburg where I had icing issues previously, this is where my windshield, headlights and visor iced over on the Santasore ride.
So I geared up, checked weather one last time and headed out at 0330 in a balmy 20F, first stopping in Easton, Pennsylvania where got my first gas receipt in a new gas station that just opened a few miles from home and then I hit the interstate headed west and south to Bristol, Tennessee, where it was actually above freezing by noon, then turned around and headed back, ended up riding the last hour in 33F rain that was just starting to freeze! Yikes! No precipitation at all was forecast and this was a total surprise, a small band of light rain was passing through and with cold ground this is the stuff of nightmares if it starts to freeze, and it was doing just that! Nothing to do but press on at this point, there was still plenty of traffic on the highway and that keeps it from freezing but I was worried about that last 2 miles to my home, up a 500 foot hill on a lightly traveled, winding road, I was picturing ice, wet frozen leaves, all sorts of fun stuff lurking in the wet darkness, it was slippery but I made it OK to the gas station near my house to finish the ride!
To be honest most the ride was rather anticlimactic this time, for once it went smoothly, no incidents at all on 99% of it, it was cold but I had on neck to ankle heated gear so that took care of that, there was an incredible amount of truck traffic compared to last year but they were fairly well behaved and didn't try to kill me, and I kept the speed (slightly) down and didn't get any performance awards from the legendary VA Highway Patrol. The surprise freezing rain at 8:30 pm was very concerning but it was OK on the road until I got into my own driveway. I missed the button in my jacket to open the garage door as I rode up so I had to stop and open the door. No big deal but when I put a foot down it slipped out on the icy, freezing driveway and I almost dropped my bike!!! I got my balance back but that had my attention, I opened the door and carefully rode inside. An hour later it might have been VERY scary out as the temperature dropped and the ground froze.
It was quite cold for the first 8 hours till it finally broke the freezing point but I thank goodness for head to ankle heated gear, the last time I did something like this was a year ago, on my Santasore ride in slightly warmer conditions with heated jacket and gloves but normal pants and my lower half was numb. This time with the heated pants I was much more comfortable, the only thing slightly cold was my feet and that was my own fault, I was debating between heavy wool socks or insulated boots and ended up forgetting and wearing neither, so this was a self inflicted wound. Live and learn
1066 miles in 17 hours, Winter Solstice ride 12/21/21 achieved.
Verified, certificate received.
My intention is to do the series of 4 rides, on the two Solstices and the 2 Equinoxes, so that I can earn the all Season rider certificate. I figured I would start on the toughest and get the Winter one done first, in my climate 12/21 can be a real challenge, not to mention the fact that this is the shortest, darkest day of the year so a lot of this ride would be in the darkness. Pennsylvania weather is very variable and we can have anything that time of year, feet of snow and sub zero temps are a distinct possibility, so is warm and wet, or freezing rain, or sleet, or all sorts of other 'fun' conditions, which means that this isn't a ride that can be done every year starting at home. I actually attempted this ride a year ago and aborted 1 mile from home, my 08 was apart for maintenance and my 16 refused to start. I spent an hour fighting with it with jumpers and chargers and finally got it running but then 1/2 way to the gas station I reconsidered heading off into 24F 0300 darkness on a less than reliable machine, and it turned out I was right, the battery failed for good soon afterwards. I quickly put my 08 back together and did the Santasore ride on it 4 days later and that ended last year.
This time around the weather looked good, COLD but dry and that is crucial, I can work with cold but ice and snow can be a challenge, and so can freezing rain and freezing fog. No precipitation was in the forecast for any areas along my ride, south of my turn around it was raining heavily on the radar but it was not supposed to head north, it was close but OK so that was good. It was forecast to be 20F on 12/21 in the early AM.. cold but manageable. You would think heading south it would get warmer but what you don't see is that as you go that way you are headed into the mountains and after warming slightly to 24F as I neared Harrisburg, PA the temp started to drop again. From that point on I81 goes up into the mountains and it gets colder as you get higher and the weather gets more unpredictable, especially in southern Virginia near Roanoke and Blacksburg where I had icing issues previously, this is where my windshield, headlights and visor iced over on the Santasore ride.
So I geared up, checked weather one last time and headed out at 0330 in a balmy 20F, first stopping in Easton, Pennsylvania where got my first gas receipt in a new gas station that just opened a few miles from home and then I hit the interstate headed west and south to Bristol, Tennessee, where it was actually above freezing by noon, then turned around and headed back, ended up riding the last hour in 33F rain that was just starting to freeze! Yikes! No precipitation at all was forecast and this was a total surprise, a small band of light rain was passing through and with cold ground this is the stuff of nightmares if it starts to freeze, and it was doing just that! Nothing to do but press on at this point, there was still plenty of traffic on the highway and that keeps it from freezing but I was worried about that last 2 miles to my home, up a 500 foot hill on a lightly traveled, winding road, I was picturing ice, wet frozen leaves, all sorts of fun stuff lurking in the wet darkness, it was slippery but I made it OK to the gas station near my house to finish the ride!
To be honest most the ride was rather anticlimactic this time, for once it went smoothly, no incidents at all on 99% of it, it was cold but I had on neck to ankle heated gear so that took care of that, there was an incredible amount of truck traffic compared to last year but they were fairly well behaved and didn't try to kill me, and I kept the speed (slightly) down and didn't get any performance awards from the legendary VA Highway Patrol. The surprise freezing rain at 8:30 pm was very concerning but it was OK on the road until I got into my own driveway. I missed the button in my jacket to open the garage door as I rode up so I had to stop and open the door. No big deal but when I put a foot down it slipped out on the icy, freezing driveway and I almost dropped my bike!!! I got my balance back but that had my attention, I opened the door and carefully rode inside. An hour later it might have been VERY scary out as the temperature dropped and the ground froze.
It was quite cold for the first 8 hours till it finally broke the freezing point but I thank goodness for head to ankle heated gear, the last time I did something like this was a year ago, on my Santasore ride in slightly warmer conditions with heated jacket and gloves but normal pants and my lower half was numb. This time with the heated pants I was much more comfortable, the only thing slightly cold was my feet and that was my own fault, I was debating between heavy wool socks or insulated boots and ended up forgetting and wearing neither, so this was a self inflicted wound. Live and learn
1066 miles in 17 hours, Winter Solstice ride 12/21/21 achieved.
Verified, certificate received.
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