I am not a Biker. I'm a biker. There's always lots of threads on here about how they ride all year round, and into the teens. Yet , when I ride under 45 I rarely see any other bikers. And in Wisconsin only a fool rides under 32 degrees. They're going to hit ice, and that's stupid. I'm putting my bike away soon. And not only because of the low morning temperatures. It's dark when I get out of work, and I live in deer country. I don't ride at night. Another reason I'm not a real Biker.

 

Now, there are a few riders out there that enjoy riding at night. It takes a special kind of awareness. Two things I enjoy are sailing coastwise at night and riding at night.

Its cooler, air is usually crystal clear. Yes, animals are on the move. So here are the things I enjoy in the dark.

Getting up around 1 or 2 AM and getting in 3 or 4 hours of riding before stopping for breakfast.

Leaving friends that meet in a distant place in late in the evening head out to ride riding home rather than modeling it and getting an early start. If the distance is 200-300 miles, I’ll enjoy the road, basically to myself. Extra alert for animals of all shapes and sizes.

We prefer country two lanes, not urban street lighted stroads. If I lived in an urban area, except to run to a tavern with live music, I’d take the truck.

When running in the wilderness, sometimes a fast car shows up....for me, I let them pass easily then let them plow the road for me. I stay back far enough to not effect them, but their super bright LEDs light the road ahead for miles so I can pick up hazards long before they become hazards. I followed one Audi one time from rural Canada all the into the USA about 200 miles. I remained a good 200 feet behind him, so he was not pushed, but with my lights and his lights, those extra mph felt safe and secure. In real heavy stupid deer areas, I’ve slowed down a bit to let a truck, pickup or large vehicle plow the road, basically stop any deer from stepping in front of me. I see their eyes, but they are not moving, not skidish, not being stupid. A single vehicle, me alone catching them roadside causes more panic, more stupid reactions. So I slow down depending on visibility. I’ve had close calls, but in each of those cases, basic practiced motorcycling skills saved me.

 

LMMFAO....

Ain't got no ego problems, my life is good, and I've been a "BIKER" for the better part of 3 decades.

F**k all the other bullshit....

 

Not only do I ride in a deer infested area like you, I ride in a wild hog infested area too, some in excess of 400 lbs.

No LED's lights the road ahead for miles.

Maybe I'm not understanding your post, but even the best lights give us a few hundred feet reaction time, not miles.

 

What is a biker? A motorcyclist? Rider? Pilot? Bug Catcher Extraordinaire....
Certainly, he or she is all of these. Does age play a factor? Absolutely. Time in the saddle? Most definitely.
In no way can anyone be considered any of the above names in their first season of riding. Squid is the only applicable term. Degrading? Maybe, but lack of knowledge says they will make squidly mistakes.

Does the brand of bike matter? To some, yes. Others not so much. Does that make a biker less of a biker? No, it's like oil...personal preferance. Now, it can assumed that we all ride Harley Davidson, but that wouldn't be true. I would bet many here ALSO ride a Harley Davidson. What do I mean by that? Dirtbike, adventure, ATV, sportbike, dual sport, enduro and any others I can't currently think up. Variety is the spice of life...right? Damn right it is! If you haven't gone full throttle over a set of whoops. Never leaned over so far your shoulder kisses the pavement. Smelled the fuel on race day as you line up on the grid. Turned wrenches till the wheels fall off? Eating the dirt. Winning on Sunday. Your missing out sir, your missing out. What does all that variety give us? Experience. Experience in all the things we know as the motorsports...which includes H-D. Anybody remember the fateful VR1000 Superbike? Experience is what makes a biker. Period. Riding in inclement weather? All by itself, it doesn't matter. It doesn't make you less or more. Added into our other experiences and combined? That makes a biker.

 

Bikers belatedly berating bro's by blatantly bickering bothersomely 'bout being bad big boy Bitches , bye .

 

well said, my friend. My post wasn’t really about cold weather riding although some took it that way. You get it.

 

Not a “ biker” here. I don’t have a vest with stickers on it. Just ride your motorcycle and worry about yourself. Do your own thing.

 

A woman, who had probably too many drinks, once started giving a few of us some ****.... because not all of the bikes we rode were H-D.
As she said it "If you don't ride a Harley, you ain't ****"
Ever the pot stirrer... I asked "And WHAT model Harley do YOU ride?
She said "My boyfriend has a ...."
When I cut her off.... with, "I didn't ask about your boyfriend, I asked what YOU rode..... if YOU don't have a Harley, by your own logic... you ain't ****"
After sputtering a bit, she came back with she was a REAL biker, because being a biker was a "state of mine"

20 years later, I am quite content to be ME... and have no need for the confirmation of others

 

I am not a biker, but I dress like a pirate and pretend to be one in real life.
I ride when I can. As many on here can attest, that is sometimes difficult with all the responsibilities we have. Work, family, household chores, errands, yard work, etc. It never freaking ends. Finding time to ride around here, when the weather isn't ***, like it usually is, adds to the challenge. Riding in the cold? Sure, not a problem for me. Riding in the rain? Nope, not on purpose, anyway. I hate washing all the road grime off the bike. And all the road salt and liquid brine they lay thick on the roads around here in the winter, the bike will never see it. I do not have a heated garage to give the bike a very thorough rinse off to get that highly corrosive $hit off the bike. And even if I did, the bike would probably rust away, anyway. Harley doesn't exactly manufacture their bikes with any corrosion protection. Hell, even cars and trucks, which have significantly more corrosion protection, are rusted out hulks of metal in less than ten years around here. As soon as we have a few good rain storms in the spring to wash the crap off the roads, the bike comes back out of hibernation.
I applaud anyone who rides no matter what. Rain, road salt, sub zero temperatures, 115 degree heat. Kudos to them. But for me, those things suck the joy out of riding. I ride to enjoy it, not to prove how hardcore I am. (Which I am not.) I rode my bike to work this morning. When I finally stop riding for the season, when the salt trucks come out, I am one of the last around here to park it for the winter. Even now, I hardly see any other bikes on the road. Unlike in the summer, where it seems like there are as many bikes as cars on the road. Does that make me a biker? I don't know, or care. I was never one for labels, anyway.