Riding in a Winter Wonderland.... or not

JAORE

Premier Member
#1
I finished Summer solstice and Fall equinox rides this year. Obviously I was on the road Friday knocking out my Winter solstice ride, right?

Hardly.

Plan your ride:

Since the four seasons rides are on set dates I plan multiple routes to avoid weather or construction delays. In fact I have them north, south, east and west. Winter is the worst due to possible cold, short days and holiday traffic. No major construction delays are expected on my preferred route.

OK, limited daylight on a winter solstice is a given. I'll start early, 1 am so I'm in the dark at my most alert. Interstate route to cut down on total time riding and minimize deer issues. To be honest I worried a bit about riding too late Friday night anyway with all the Christmas party people on the road. Plus I go through the cities on the route way before rush hour. And almost a full moon that night? Great.

Weather says light rain for the first hour or two, then clear the rest of the ride. Not bad. My Fall Equinox included a HARD driving rain, so this seems like a cake walk. Cold, yeah, some, but I have my heated vest and gloves, checked, laid out and ready. All my other IBA “stuff” at the ready.

Early to bed Wednesday, nap early Thursday.

Yep. All planned out.

And then it all went pear shape. A family commitment would up with a long, frustrating Wednesday. It also involved a couple hundred miles driving in a car, in the rain. Defensive driving was the only reason we avoided multiple crashes. EVERYBODY seemed to be distracted, on a cell phone or in a HUGE hurry. Red flag 1.

Then, that night I had stomach issues keeping me up much of the night. Banking sleepis out. Red Flag 2.

Friday at 12:15 am I get up for the final prep work. Hmmm, raining and not light, not light at all. I check the weather web site. The rain area seems larger and stronger than predicted just a few hours ago. I pull up MyRadar. Ho Lee Katz, it's raining for some 80 percent of my route. My alternate routes are worse! Red flag 3.

[At this point it is obvious I am NOT a “Go Home Ken”. I've done a lot of miles in the rain, but it's not my first choice.]

Based on the motion of the rain on MyRadar it might lighten up in just a couple of hours. Back to bed until two. Nope, just as bad as ever. Plus I really didn't sleep. OK, lets try four. Nope. Six? Nope. At nine am it looked like the original forecast. An hour or two of rain then overcast through Saturday. So much for my nearly full moon. So much for being off the road when the weekend party people are out. Red flag 4.

Now I'm fatigued and would be riding in the dark for the last several hours of my trip. Red flag 5.

I'll now be going through some cities at rush hour. Red flag 6.

Finally, my wife and I are hosting some 24 family members for Christmas on Sunday. Several key items MUST be accomplished Friday. She has told me “Go on” multiple times. But it would have left her (a great wife and an IBA member too) in a tight. AND she is still in a temporary cast and going to physical therapy from surgery on her hand. Red flag 7.

So, pursue another cert when fatigued, on an altered plan, in sketchy weather, leaving my wife to carry a load by herself......

Great incentive to continue pursuit of the Four Seasons Cert in 2019. After all, I'll still be 3 weeks younger than 68 then.
 
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IBA ZX-9R

Well-Known Member
#2
Smart man. Don't let the warning signs get into your head, but use your head. Even if you can't accomplish the FSC in 2019, it's just circumstance that'll probably prevent it. But good luck to you in 2019, nontheless.

I agree with your comment about the idiots on the highway at this time of year too. In some areas I had to check my speedo several times to be sure I was actually above the speed limit. It was Talladega out there in some stretches, then for no apparent reason in other stretches, the roads were blocked by slow drivers in the fast lane, basically turning the freeway into a below the speed limit road block. The only reason the crazies ever used the slow lane I was in, was to swerve wildly around the group holding everyone else up in the fast lane(s). Then the weaving in their lane drivers who must have had other more important things on their minds than the task at hand, driving! That or they were intoxicated.

If that's the gauntlet you have to overcome for accreditation, that would be one hurdle too much for me.