Winter weekend ride

[Rocinante]

Since I haven't made any RR's here before, I thought it was time to share a few images from a winter trip I did this weekend.

It's the longest trip I've done to date in winter time, and it took me 150 km into the mountains of Norway. Rauland is the area, and my familiy in law has a cabin there we were visiting for the weekend.

I left on Thursday and my wife and kid came up on Friday. My aim was to test myself in tougher conditions than I had done earlier, and to have fun. On Mapsource I had  picked out the backroads, to avoid the salty and heavily trafficked main roads. That gave me a lot of km's on very nice snow covered roads with very little traffic.

Temperatures ranged from -2ºC to -10ºC going up, while coming back it was constantly around -15 to -16ºC.


The Michelin man in the image was wearing:
Two layers of warm underwear, one which included a windstopper front.
Sweater
Two piece motorcycle suit with armor
Snow mobile suit
Gaiters below the suit and above the boots.
On my feet I had a pair of two sizes too big Sorel boots.
On my hands I had an old pair of Hestra winter gloves with liners. I used a pair of slightly modified hippo hands on the handle bars(cut shorter), and had just mounted a set of Oxford heated grips.
I also wore a full face bandana and a buff with windstopper material in front.
A light backpack kept my back warm as well.

On the bike I had a camera tank bag and a small roll of luggage in the back. Most of my gear came up the day after, excluding my mountain ski set which went up in front with a friend. This meant I could travel very light. I'm not ready for heavy luggage yet...

 
The dashboard with some extras; GPS, thermometer, voltmeter and Oxford hot grips. The gaffa tape is part of the prototype hippo hands that I only use for longer trips. Some day they will be replaced with something that looks better. Maybe...


Trelleborg Army Special Winter with studs. The huge number of car size studs makes it grip quite well on snow, and the soft rubber combined with the relatively short studs (2 mm), makes it adequate on  salty tarmac too.


After about 60 km I stopped in a little place called Bø to fill gas. I had planned to warm up inside but figuered, quite sursprisingly, that I was warm enough, so I just filled her up and left.

One of the challenges I find in riding in winter time is, oddly enough, how to deal with sweat(and fear of falling, but that's another story...). I perspire easily, and when you put on all that gear it's very likely your back is dripping by the time you start riding.
My remedy has been to try to do things very slowly towards the end, even put on the last layers outside, and try to be as ready as possible so I can jump straight on the bike and go when the last layer is on.
The last trick is rarely a success though. Most of the time my keys are in a pocket somewhere upstairs in the bedroom, the goggles are still in the drawer, I forgot to put in ear plugs, or at least, the phone rings.


After another 80 km, including a short coffee brake outside a gas station, I took a short cut through a narrow back road in winter wonderland. In the image you can't really see the ruts and car tire tracks, but this road had had a snow fall after the last clearing, and was quite technical for me to navigate. The poor contrast made it worse. As a result I started sweating and had to stop to take off a layer.


The sweater came off, and it took about ten minutes to cool down. Temperature was around -8ºC now.

Then I arrived to be received with a beer and a place by the fire. I was too busy enjoying the beer to take more  pictures that day. (And I'm a photographer by trade. Haha!)





Now followed two days of skiing with friends and family. Check out my 5 year old's style...:)


When I went back home on Sunday, I drove most of the distance in one go, only stopping for a cup of coffee once(inside this time), partly due to the receeding daylight. The last half I did on main roads, sucking up salt along the way (which I washed off back home).

Temps were now, as mentioned, around -15ºC, or about 5ºF. I had put on one more layer, a two piece one layer gore tex rain suit. This went below the motorcycle suit, and it helps a lot in stopping any small stream of air seeping through.

It got a bit too much though. I lost som movement and felt heavy and stiff. Next time I'll skip one layer.
Also my neck got cold, even though it was wrapped in three layers, and the top was the hood of the rain jacket stuffed into the helmet. I don't know how to solve it yet, but there has to be a smart way to properly cover up the gap between the helmet and the suit. It's worse in the neck than in front, probably due to the turbulence, and the front need a bit of ventilation to avoid fogging up the goggles. Suggestions are welcome.
 
I used a pair of chemical heated soles this time, But even so my feet got slightly cold. But that's the hardest part to insulate so I found it acceptable. I don't think I'll do much colder day trips than this anyway.

My hands had an extra layer in the form of a pair of wind mittens on top of the gloves. I removed them towards the end. Thank you Oxford.:)

All in all it was an excellent round trip. It confirmed that there's no such thing as bad weather, only bad clothes (a saying in Norwegian that rhymes, eh at least in Norwegian).

If interested in the geography, you should be able to see the route here:
http://www.everytrail.com/view_trip.php?trip_id=507587&code=620b3407d496dcc6ea9834ac67044cab


Dag

[Mustang]

Looks you had fun and that's what matters  :D

 

[Nick Calne]

Awesome stuff!  8)

[John Stenhouse]

Great post, superb trip. Only thing that stops goggles steaming up is Gloop, it's a sort of gel they sold here a few years back, you rub it in and it does the job quite well.
Alternatives are, a snowmobile helmet, I believe they have a two visor system, or a pinlock visor.

[Sin_Tiger]

:icon_salut    

[BigMark]

Now thats what i call a family vacation.. Thanks for sharing  :D

[Rocinante]

Great post, superb trip. Only thing that stops goggles steaming up is Gloop, it's a sort of gel they sold here a few years back, you rub it in and it does the job quite well.
Alternatives are, a snowmobile helmet, I believe they have a two visor system, or a pinlock visor.

I know. I've used something similar in the past. Most of the time, fog is not a big deal even in the cold. But I live by the coast where it can be damp, and then it fogs up pretty good.

Riding in town can be a challenge though. Lots of stops where the goggles fogs up and it's too difficult to taken them on and off.

Other than that I really like the goggles.

I'm thinking of making an electrical heated visor, which shouldn't be too difficult. There are a few good recipies around. I'm holding back though because I want to keep down the number of electrical gadgets.

[chairhead]

Dag,
Nice report mate,great pictures,i bet you had a great time,just goes to show that Tiger are not just for summer use 8).
Ref the misted visor, a couple of guys i know use these when in winter mode and swear by them.

http://store.ski-doo.com/products/311161?&n=0&va=t
i suffer from the same problem even though i use an open face lid,i guess it happens as i only pull the visor down if its snowing hard,the other item you could use is the old Bob Heath anti mist visor spray,that works a treat too,small enough to put in a pocket and will work on your goggles

[TheMule]

COOL!!
or maybe even cold!

Thanks, looks like a great time!

[Bixxer Bob]

I pride myself on riding all year round, or at least I did...  now I just feel inadequate..  :oops:

[John Stenhouse]

I pride myself on riding all year round, or at least I did...  now I just feel inadequate..  :oops:

LOL, Reminds me of taking Tigger off road in the Alps............There I was two up on the sestriere to susa road thinking I was the kiddy, two up, beautiful weather, several thousand feet up, Dakar godlike powers(which in case your wondering I'm not even close), brought down to earth with a bump, as coming the other way is a Fiat Uno, with four Italians in it!

[Rocinante]

Dag,
Nice report mate,great pictures,i bet you had a great time,just goes to show that Tiger are not just for summer use 8).
Ref the misted visor, a couple of guys i know use these when in winter mode and swear by them.
http://store.ski-doo.com/products/311161?&n=0&va=t
i suffer from the same problem even though i use an open face lid,i guess it happens as i only pull the visor down if its snowing hard,the other item you could use is the old Bob Heath anti mist visor spray,that works a treat too,small enough to put in a pocket and will work on your goggles

Thanks Chairhead and the rest of you. I absolutely had a great time.:)

I will think of buying that kind of helmet for next winter. However my problem is I have a very big head, probably lots of water in there. In European sizes I use 65, and the BMW  system 4 helmet I currently use, which can be converted to jet or cross helmet, is the only one I've tried that fits.

So buying without trying is a gamble. I've tried helmets which claims to be XXL and size 64, and I can't even force them on.

I'll get som antidog spray. It's on a list but I keep forgetting it.

I pride myself on riding all year round, or at least I did...  now I just feel inadequate..  :oops:

Don't! I rode a 350 for two winters, after many many summers on gravel roads with the Tiger. When I took the Tiger out on snow I had lightened her 25 kg, most of which was sitting high up, hence the centre of gravity was lowered significantly. That makes a hell of a difference on the Steamer.

I pride myself on riding all year round, or at least I did...  now I just feel inadequate..  :oops:

LOL, Reminds me of taking Tigger off road in the Alps............There I was two up on the sestriere to susa road thinking I was the kiddy, two up, beautiful weather, several thousand feet up, Dakar godlike powers(which in case your wondering I'm not even close), brought down to earth with a bump, as coming the other way is a Fiat Uno, with four Italians in it!

:) Been there, done that.

[Rocinante]

I'll get som antidog spray.

That should be useful, lots of carnivores roaming the roads here... :oops:

[Sin_Tiger]

You might want to consider Quick Strap goggles. If you haven't seen these before, two mounts are stuck either side of the aperture, one is a pin and the other side is a velcro pad. One strap has a "keyhole" that clips onto the pin and the other end matching, well velcro.

I find it very useful as you can flip the velcro off in traffic and just leave the goggles hangining and reposition them in a second, also it allows easy range of small adjustment. I think you can buy the straps separately and fit them to your favourite goggles if you don't like Scott's.

[Rocinante]

You might want to consider Quick Strap goggles. If you haven't seen these before, two mounts are stuck either side of the aperture, one is a pin and the other side is a velcro pad. One strap has a "keyhole" that clips onto the pin and the other end matching, well velcro.

I find it very useful as you can flip the velcro off in traffic and just leave the goggles hangining and reposition them in a second, also it allows easy range of small adjustment. I think you can buy the straps separately and fit them to your favourite goggles if you don't like Scott's.

I have seen these on the some mx helmets but assumed they were preinstalled. A search revealed several places that sell the quick strap though. Thanks for the advice.

I may have one challenge though. I use a BMW System 4 flip-up helmet. That means the quick strap mounts need to go further back than usual not to conflict with the chin section when open. Can you tell me apporximately how long the straps are on each side, and if it's possible to use the exisiting straps and just cut them to fit properly (possibly includes some sewing)?