The Paulcb Memorial Coldest Ride, Winter 2024-2025

Ok, so school got cancelled due to cold and then this morning the forecast improved overnight to have temps bottom out at -22F. So when I went to fertilize my lawn with coffee grounds I couldn't help but try the starter on that KLR in the unheated attached garage. Some signs of life....and then after a few more tries it started thumping like a good thumper should. So then I patiently waited and left a little before the temp hit the bottom of the barrel. Plan was to go to school and use the elliptical in the weight room to get an aerobic fix. And thinking I had missed the low temp, when I pushed the bike into the heated auto shop, sure enough the temperature in Melrose - where I was parked showed the -22F mark had been reached. Same gear as yesterday and same route out the snowpacked icy gravel as well. Slow and steady wins the race on that stuff evidently. Only 17 miles there and then 17 miles back at the balmy temperature of yesterday's ride.

Glad to see some growing excitement on this thread for cold weather and snow. Always refreshingf to communicate with the informed who enjoy the range of fun that can be had with weather changes through the seasons. They say the cold weather keeps the riff raff out around here. But maybe it just brings out the nuttiness in those of us with that tendency and we get happier and friendlier because of it. I grew up in central Pennsylvania (SE corner of the state geographically) and there too many folks pine about what if, fear the cold, fear the snow, fear the dark, fear just to have fear. Happy you all are seeing the joy in it. Best wishes tomorrow for those who venture out as it looks like the end of this arctic blast.-22 IN MELROSE.png
 
Congrats centralMN that's getting down "the Dan" territory right there. :thumb:

If you look back at the results from years past, it's basically the same bunch of nuts that participate in this every year.

I enjoy riding no matter the temp, as long as the roads are clear and dry. Dressed properly it's just like riding any other time of the year for me. If I'm riding, I'm enjoying myself.
 
Around here schools are off due to MLK day. Likely delayed tomorrow due to the cold. It is expected to go down to a moderate cool temp of -13F in the early morning and not get above zeroF until lunch time. NO snow on the roads anywhere and very little snow left over from the snowfall 2 weeks ago. Even that is slowly going away due to sublimation.
 
Weather underground predicts the morning temp as -20⁰F at 7am, -15⁰F at my normal commute time of 9am.
I may have gone in early just to jump over Dan's (centralMN) staggering -18⁰F but now that he has bested that himself, no need. -22⁰F :eek:

Handlebar muffs would be great for tomorrow. I tried them a few years ago and the set I got didn't work that well over the bark-busters on my WR250. We will see how well the heaters in the battery powered gloves do instead.

I'll probably pick up a something below -10⁰F tomorrow but Dan looks unbeatable this year. I tip my hat to you.

Later,
Kent Larson in Woodbury, MN
 
@rjs987 Great job Robert, sorry, I'm not sure how I missed that one. You guys are impressive this year with the braving of the cold. I haven't had the bike out in months, sad face emoticon. I sure am enjoying reading about your adventures. Be safe out there.
 
So now there is an opportunity left on the table. (edit - Actually turned down to -25 as the sun is threatening to enlighten us) But instead of looking at temp and bike it was yoga this morning. Feeling happy to feel good. Enjoy!

BTW I'm going to suggest ties can be broken by any significantly northern neighbor willing to concede. Kent, it's only January.
 

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I don't know how many of you remember, but we used to have a Below Zero club associated with this game years ago, but I think Mellow discontinued it because it gave people a reason to go out in poor conditions

Heck, we don't need no stinkin' reason....we do it just because we want to.. :rofl1:
 
I tried to get ready for tonight a couple days ago when it was above freezing but only succeeded in making what is now a sheet of ice.
This is the first sort of old time winter in a while for here. Snowed the last week of December and is staying snow covered all this month.
Thought I’d be off the list but looks like the same few nuts with some lucky ones getting great weather.
If we are going back to 1970’s winters, I may have to get studded tires.
 
I was a member of the Year 'Round Riders club many years ago. Don't think that web site is active any more. I held the "privilage"(?) of being a KHOF member (Kook Hall of Fame). That's when a member has ridden in temps below zeroF and above 100F in a single year. I held that title for a few years.

Now to the business of the day!...

I think the last time I rode in temps below -11F was over 14 years ago... and that was my first Coldest Ride Contest that I won at -15.7F. I think it was after that @The Dan decided to "ride in" and set the new low temp standard here at -18F, then -23F and in 2019 @fredflintstone rode in at -25F. So there are some standards to ride up to... er... down to.

I've been watching the weather the last few days as the temps varied up and down... mostly down. All the snow is staying WAY down south and to the east of us so we have almost no snow anywhere.
I was thinking I might be able to match my -11F that happened several years ago (before 2015). But that didn't happen this morning. Instead, I noted my security cameras were showing a solid -13F and one showed -14F! and that was still the case at 8:30 am after I had breakfast after my ride. I did remember to wear my thermal long johns and also a second pair of socks this time. I also added a fleece jacket under my riding gear.

When I backed the bike into the driveway and started it up to let it sit for several minutes at idle I noticed my thermal sensor in the clear pocket of the bar muffs was already showing just below -13F. I took off and headed mostly north from my home. Several places the road dipped into creek valleys where usually the temps would drop significantly. But this time the temps stayed close to -13.1F to -13.7F almost all the way for the 20 mile ride. There were a few places on the way back that showed as high as -12.4F for a very short time but the sun was starting to climb and the temps still dropped back down to around -13.1F to -13.4F for most of the way back home. So for today I'm going with -13F. The heated grips were set to 3 (hottest) and in the bar muffs that was plenty warm enough. I was hoping I'd find that low place where the temp would drop to -14F but humidity has been high lately keeping temps relatively the same all around. Was close but...

I did learn something today. I was thinking that if I kept my helmet in the house instead of in the unheated garage it would work out better. NOT. The visor did fog up a bit even with my snorkel. Stays clear when the helmet visor is already cooled in the garage before I put it on, but I put it on in the house and then went outside. Was still able to see well enough but...
Then again, I haven't used my Honda spray on the visor in a while so that would help since Honda spray cleaner is also an anti-fogging formula.

I also learned the temp limits of my security cameras. The specs say -4F, but they were all still working fine at -13F/-14F and below. I say below because it really was colder and hour earlier than when I looked. ONE camera, on the NE corner of the house (showing the garage) was saying it was offline at below -14F but came back online to record me backing the bike out of the garage. :cool:
 
I live on a hill over-looking the Ohio River... I can drop down to the river in winter and lose a couple of degrees, and then the temp climbs back up when I ride uphill toward the house. The bank that I used to use for taking my temp photos is on top of the hill about 5 miles from the river, is warmer, but easier (safer) riding ... flat and straight, vs hilly and curvy to get to the river. According to the forecast tomorrow morning is the only chance I'll have to get a below zero reading (our only below zero reading so far this winter) at least going 10 days forward. Going to have to get up and out early. I'm actually kind of glad we don't get the -17 to -25 some of you fellas get. That's just too durn cold for me lol (I hate cold), and I certainly tip my hat to those of you willing to brave it to ride. I'm happy just to finish on the board in this fun event.

Tue 21 | Night​

-5°


2%
WSW8 mph
Bitterly cold. Partly cloudy skies. Low near -5F. Winds WSW at 5 to 10 mph.
 
the Ferret said:
I don't know how many of you remember, but we used to have a Below Zero club associated with this game years ago, but I think Mellow discontinued it because it gave people a reason to go out in poor conditions

Heck, we don't need no stinkin' reason....we do it just because we want to.. :rofl1:
Click to expand...
There used to be a group called the Rounders. The idea was to ride at least once per month. The temperatures you rode in established your place on the Rounderdom (or stupidity). I found them originally when looking for heated gear back in the days when that was first starting. Some of the guys actually wired their own gear.

Chris
 
Daboo said:
There used to be a group called the Rounders. The idea was to ride at least once per month. The temperatures you rode in established your place on the Rounderdom (or stupidity). I found them originally when looking for heated gear back in the days when that was first starting. Some of the guys actually wired their own gear.

Chris
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Gosh, I can't remember when the last time I missed riding at least one day in a month...decades...at least back to 1972. I know I have pics of me somewhere riding one of my pan head Harleys in the snow..that had to be in the late 60s, before I switched over to Hondas in 1968 or 9. Bought my first heated gear in 1973.... a Widder elect vest sized small (I weighed 128 back then...lol). Now all my gear is size large :rofl1: and I haven't gotten any taller...in fact ...nevermind
 
Daboo said:
There used to be a group called the Rounders. The idea was to ride at least once per month. The temperatures you rode in established your place on the Rounderdom (or stupidity). I found them originally when looking for heated gear back in the days when that was first starting. Some of the guys actually wired their own gear.

Chris
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Yeah, those would be the Year Round Riders... or Rounders... that I mentioned.
ridermagazine.com

Rounders: The Goal is to Ride Year-Round | Rider Magazine

by Cliff Yankovich photography by the author, Mark Haldane, Gail Hatch and Steve Williams Are you the kind of rider who wants to get a little more time in
ridermagazine.com ridermagazine.com
 
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I will resist the temptation to associate the MINUS teens thermometer readings, with the IQ of some of y'all here.
While I'm equipped to ride in ridiculous temps, I usually won't. But as those ridiculous numbers are rare here in Alabama (this week being one of the stupid exceptions), I'll often ride in January and February because there's a HUGE difference between 20 degrees and 32 degrees. We'll usually see a few days of 40-ish, and that's perfectly doable for me.
When ya get to sub-zero temperatures, I'm not interested in frostbite or other potential frozen-weather maladies. Oh, then add wind chill? Fuggedaboutit. Those are times for brown water over ice, in front of a roaring fireplace that puts out large amounts of hotness.
Walked outside this morning at 18 degrees (above zero), and my eyeballs hurt.
Pfffttt.
 
Sadlsor said:
I will resist the temptation to associate the MINUS teens thermometer readings, with the IQ of some of y'all here.
Click to expand...
That was a great line. @Mellow should find a way to make that a sticky to be the first post of this thread each year. :D :D :D

Someone mentioned how it seems to be the same group in the thread. Well, I suppose there's a reason for that. You need dry cold. Those in Florida or California probably won't get many opportunities to post here because it doesn't get cold enough. And in Rome, NY when I was stationed at Griffiss AFB, we got an average of 12 feet of snow each year...in town. It never crossed my mind to buy a motorcycle there. I took up cross-country skiing instead.

So like now in Puget Sound, its cold...but not cold enough. And if it snows...it won't matter how cold it is later, it won't be dry enough.

BTW, I'm still waiting for my prize for making it into the top 10 last year. :D

Chris
 
Well, since I posted at 11:30 about riding early tomorrow to grab a below zero, it has since started snowing... hard, and accumulating on my drive and street, don't remember that being in the forecast. SO, my current low temp looks like that's going to probably be my lowest this year. The extended forecast going into Feb is for warmer weather and January is usually the coldest month of the year here in Cinti.
 
Boss said I wasn't needed at the office today. Oh well. Guess I'll need to test my -20 setup some other day.
 
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