Today's Ride

[Jeff Higgins]

About a 250 mile round trip with my Super Tenere mounted buddy, me on my Road King. We just kinda got a wild hair and said "to hell with it, let's do this thing". We rode up to the Diablo Lake overlook on the North Cascades Highway (U.S. 20). Per his little ride computer thinga-majiggy, temps averaged around 27 degrees. 17 where we stopped to turn around and snap a few pics. I think that might be about my limit on a motorcycle.

[Baz]

Wow - nice ride, Jeff! What kind of protection from the cold air (aside from your windscreen) do you have for your face?

[Jeff Higgins]

Just a full face helmet. My buddy has heated grips, a heated seat, and wears a heated vest. But, well, he does ride a Yamaha...

Us Harley riders just bundle up.

[Baz]

Too cold for me - I'd be the guy in the Volvo....lol.....

[flatbutt]

Doesn't the salt get into all the little tight places? That's why I gave up winter riding.

[Jeff Higgins]

No salt in Washington. Not "environmentally friendly". Lots of sand in rural areas, and the de-icing spray in urban areas. A really good hose down after the ride is all it takes to get it all off, with no lingering affects.

[rattlsnak]

You don't worry about slippery roads?

[Jeff Higgins]

Originally Posted by rattlsnak

You don't worry about slippery roads?

Absolutely. Always on our minds. One needs to be able to read the road conditions, which means a whole lot more than peering over one's windshield. Overnight temperatures, dew point and when it was reached, how long after it actually froze, and all of that play a part. One simply does not travel a couple hundred miles or more, by motorcycle, under these conditions without a clear understanding of all of the factors that contribute to road conditions. We've done it for as long as I can remember, but it's not for the inexperienced nor inattentive.

Several years ago, out on our Olympic Peninsula, heading up Hurricane Ridge:

[Jeff Higgins]

Yes, it is very beautiful.

Here we are, about a week after it first re-opened (snow closes it for over half the year, every year) in May, about ten years ago.

[Rot 911]

The only thing I did with any of my motorcycles today was change out the battery on my Sportster. It takes a lot of oomph to turn over that high compression engine and the old battery just wasn’t cutting it. Turns out the old Harley battery was five years old this month. Went down to the Harley dealer and replaced it with the exact same battery. I could’ve bought a cheaper battery, but if the Harley one lasted five years, it’s worth replacing with another one. Now it spins the engine over like the spark plugs are out.

[HaroldMHedge]

Originally Posted by Jeff Higgins

No salt in Washington. Not "environmentally friendly". Lots of sand in rural areas, and the de-icing spray in urban areas. A really good hose down after the ride is all it takes to get it all off, with no lingering affects.

Sorry but Washington State does use salts on the roads.

Quote from Washington State DOT Snow and ice plan

Road treatment
We use plowing and a variety of products to pre-treat and clear roadways – balancing the materials and amounts used as conditions change.

Anti-icing
Liquid calcium chloride, sodium chloride or magnesium chloride is applied to a bare road before a storm to:

• prevent ice from forming on a bare road.
• reduce the amount of snow buildup.
• accelerate the snow and ice break up after a storm.

De-icing
Solid sodium chloride (salt) is applied to remove a thin layer of snow or ice already on the road. It can also be very effective for melting and preventing black ice and freezing rain from adhering to the road

Pre-wetting
Wetting solid chemical material and sand with calcium or magnesium chloride causes them to stick to the road surface better, helps activate the solid salt and reduces corrosion.

Keeping solids on the road is difficult in some circumstances, especially with high-speed traffic. In these instances, pre-wet can help keep the sand from blowing off the road, saving on material use and ensuring that the product is in the proper location.

Sand
While not used as much as years past, sand is still used in road treatment, particularly in colder weather. Sand can blow off roadways fairly, quickly, however and can cause cleanup and water quality concerns if it enters nearby waterways.

Corrosion inhibitors
We add corrosion inhibitors – products to help prevent corrosion – to our treatment products to reduce corrosion on vehicles traveling over the roadways. Motorists concerned about salt or chemicals on their vehicles may also want to wash the vehicles to remove any material.

Environmental factors
Salt, chemicals and sand all have potential environmental concerns, which is why we train operators to apply only as much as necessary. Our precision equipment is also calibrated regularly to ensure we're applying treatments in carefully measured doses. We also annually monitor more than 50 sites for chloride levels in soil and water near our roadways.

[Jeff Higgins]

Originally Posted by HaroldMHedge

Honey - honey!!!! - Look, look!!! I found something I can be right about on the internet today!!!

There's always one...