Year round riding

As cold weather has arrived here in west central Illinois (US), it means that the bikes will go idle probably till next spring, unless we were to get an unusually warm stretch between now and then. When this time of year arrives, I always start dreaming of living in or moving to a climate where one could ride year round. I've ridden in temps from between cool to almost cold, but if temps are approaching 40 degrees fahrenheit, the bike is staying home and I'm taking the truck. Was wondering where others live, here in the U.S., that are able to ride year round. When the topic of riding in cold weather comes up, there's always someone who dredges up the " I can remembe that so-and-so used to ride year round and would even ride in the snow. Well, I ride for it to be an enjoyable experience, and exept for riding off road in the snow back when I was a very young teenager, I no longer consider doing that enjoyable. Sitting here in cold Illinois, I monitor current temps in different parts of the country to see if it would be warm enough to be riding there. As I asked, where do others live that are able to ride year round, or even most of the year. Those that are able to do so, I'm envious.

I am in southern NJ at the seashore - I generally don’t ride below 45 degrees - depends on sun , wind etc . I had a Honda ST 1300 for 17 years and would ride that in colder weather - warm cylinder banks in front of your legs , electric windscreen to raise if needed and clean aerodynamics plus a full tech suit . I am no longer enthusiastic about that kind of riding and don’t want to be surprised by black ice , acorns ( ball bearings? ) etc . At 71 years old I’ll leave that to the younger set . Winterization of the three bikes that are roadworthy began today in fact .

Richard Tool said:

I am in southern NJ at the seashore - I generally don’t ride below 45 degrees - depends on sun , wind etc . I had a Honda ST 1300 for 17 years and would ride that in colder weather - warm cylinder banks in front of your legs , electric windscreen to raise if needed and clean aerodynamics plus a full tech suit . I am no longer enthusiastic about that kind of riding and don’t want to be surprised by black ice , acorns ( ball bearings? ) etc . At 71 years old I’ll leave that to the younger set . Winterization of the three bikes that are roadworthy began today in fact .

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Just checked the current temp at your location and although not exactly warm you're about 15 degrees warmer than where I am. We are very close in age and riding in the cold has become less and less something I want to do.

Here in (central) Texas we have year-round riding, but some winters we do get freezing temps for a few days straight, and sometimes also get several inches of snow. I have a riding suit that is nice for freezing temps AND rain, but WAY too warm just for rain!

I'd say we EASILY get over 300 decent riding days a year, even deducting for rainy days.

In USA, gotta be Hawaii.

Riding season here in Seattle is short for me at over 7 decades on the 3rd rock from the sun. Not a fan of wet or cold. I'm sure there are people around here that still ride in weather I don't like. Today for instance. No rain, but cloudy and 40 degrees. Freezing where the good turns are though. Not worth it to me.

California south of San Jose was pretty good all year round when I had both road and off-road motorcycles and was young enough to really enjoy riding both.

Coldest on the Norton in my younger days was 6 above. Two pair of pants on. Had to leave the chokes partially on with the Amals. More recently was 9 above, for a New Tears Day ride. Had to warm the bike up in the garage before going out. The Mikuni didn't have a choke. As the motor started to cool down, it started to run rough. It only took about 8 miles. Bike was smarter than me.
More recent than that was a 85 BMW R80RT. With the full fairing and foot warmers to boot. Bought a heated jacket liner for the then Mrs. She also wore leggings. If main roads were dry, we would go out. Only being sure to avoid shaded areas. We also had to be back before the sun started to set, as any run off of melting snow crossing the road would quickly refreeze.
The brine that is used now, instead of salt is much more corrosive. It ate through the forward muffler in short order after being thrown on it by the rear wheel.
No more winter riding for me.

Schwany said:

California south of San Jose was pretty good all year round when I had both road and off-road motorcycles and was young enough to really enjoy riding both.

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With only having been there for a short time to visit Yosemite, maybe this is a misperception of a midwesterner, but I'd imagine much of California may be the holy grail for year round riding.

Come to the land down under all year riding no problems except when it's pissing down lol.

ashman said:

Come to the land down under all year riding no problems except when it's pissing down lol.

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I would certainly like to, even if to visit for a while, especially this time of year as it gets colder here in my part of the world.

I've lived in various parts of Ventura County in Southern California for 65 years now, and been riding regularly for the last 52 of them. Year round riding is a fact of life here. Today, December 4th, at 11:15 AM the temp is 55 degrees F, with a high of 61 expected in a few hours, with no chance of rain, and 7 mph wind. Tommorrow's high should be 71. Friday, when my friends and I do a weekly ride to lunch, the high is expected to be 80, with sunny skies and low wind. Great weather for riding.

lcrken said:

I've lived in various parts of Ventura County in Southern California for 65 years now, and been riding regularly for the last 52 of them. Year round riding is a fact of life here. Today, December 4th, at 11:15 AM the temp is 55 degrees F, with a high of 61 expected in a few hours, with no chance of rain, and 7 mph wind. Tommorrow's high should be 71. Friday, when my friends and I do a weekly ride to lunch, the high is expected to be 80, with sunny skies and low wind. Great weather for riding.

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lcrken, you're killin' me. Where I'm at it's currently 37 degrees, up about 13 degrees from yesterday. But temps look like they'll be dropping back again tomorrow. Since you're in California I'll ask, does about 1 in every 9 people in the US live in California? I've recently seen or heard a statistice to that effect. I realize that the state is deceptively large North to South, but it's unbelievable that 11 to 12 per cent of the US population lives there. Gotta wonder is there room for 1 more?