Fall Riding Tips

Coming into the fall riding season, I feel compelled to offer a few tips after watching a number of my fellow riders struggling.

1. In cooler weather, those of us who prefer half-helmets or none at all, may wish to consider wearing a full-face lid. I wear my Bombardier II Modular snowmobile helmet, without the respirator. While the feel of fresh air flowing over my face and head may be a main reason I ride, the lack thereof during the cold-weather season, greatly helps to keep warm.

2. Watch out for leaves on the road. Leaves are just now starting to fall off of trees here in Central New York State. It's been an entire year since most of us have encountered this hazard on the road. Leaves can retain water under them, while the rest of the road is dry. Needless to say, this offers less-than-ideal traction. Hitting it with your front tire, while carving a curve, can have disastrous effects.

3. Chaps and full fingered, insulated gloves are considered, by many, to be essential safety products. They are. As well, they can keep your core body temperature within normal limits, thus prolonging your riding season. Combined with thermal underwear, chaps can extend your riding season almost until it's time to pull the snowmobile out of the shed.

4. You do not need to purchase a specific cold-weather riding jacket. I wear my normal leather jacket, with liner, and layer a thermal underwear-type long-sleeve shirt, a long-sleeve t-shirt, and a hooded sweatshirt under my jacket. The hooded sweatshirt helps to keep the back of your neck from being cold. Balaclavas also work well in keeping your neck warm.

5. Normal riding boots are not good at keeping feet warm. In cold-weather, I will wear motocross socks and my insulated work boots.

I hope these tips extend your riding season. There's nothing I hate to see more then the premature storing of a bike for the winter.