Riding in very cold weather on a motorcycle for a short time or distance is generally not too difficult. Simply bundling up well and enduring is often enough. Soon the ride is over and we can warm up. No real strategies required.

But riding in cold, windy, and wet weather at highway speeds for extended periods (six hours or more) is a very different story. Lack of planning and preparing can not only turn this into an uncomfortable experience, but a dangerous one. Sustained motorcycle riding in cold weather over long distance requires more than just sucking it up and being tough. Serious winter trekkers/hikers/campers have a plan for cold weather survival. Why not cold weather motorcyclists?

What follows are some of my approaches for dealing with cold weather and cold weather riding. In fact, I used many of them during the return segment of my trip out West last year (Oct 2002) as I pulled a cold and wet all nighter through the Upper Peninsula.

The topics that I cover here are an overview and are far from being all-inclusive. But they do cover some of the basics.

Bruno
Montreal, Canada