Dreaming of Dakar

Winter is here with a vengence, not much snow so far this year but it has been over a week since we have seen temps above the 20's so we have a nice abundant supply of ice! So, what's a motorcycle rider to do this time of year? Make some special tires and ride on that ice!

My riding buddy Mike (who I bought the IT200 from) sent me a message the other day saying he was going to get his ice tires installed on his KLR and ride at the pond just down the road from my house. He said "bring your helmet".

So, yesterday afternoon I met him at the pond. I brought my helmet and of course my video camera.

Here is my first go at it.

Here I am after about 30 minutes of switching back and forth with Mike:

Certainly some improvement! I felt much more comfortable even after just a few runs.

Here is Mike on the same bike:

There are move videos on my youtube channel.

Who says motorcycles are a summer only vehicle!  I went for a ride to day, was bout 23deg I think.  The only real tricky part is getting the bike from the garage to the house.  This pic is my driveway, there are a few bare spots but you have to be careful!  The roads are all clear now but we are supposed to get snow tonight.  Each ride I know might be the last of the year.

However, I ordered a new set of tires and some ice screws for my dirtbike yesterday.  Going to try doing some ice racing this winter!  Nothing serious or competitive but all the guys I have talked to who have done it before say it is a great way to improve your riding skills.  My new tires should be in on Monday so I will hopefully get it ready to go by next weekend.  Temps are supposed to be cold for the next week so hopefully the ice will be thick.

Since I started my fitness plan back in October I primarily have been using hiking as a way to get in shape.  This week mother nature decided to make that a little more difficult by dumping a bunch of snow on us.  I am going to try to continue some hiking and snowshoeing but I am also adjusting a bit to move my workouts inside.  I have been doing a little strength training since I started but I am going to start hitting that much more seriously now.

I have already seen some good improvements since I started.  Back in October I could just manage 10 "cheater" push ups (pivoting from the knees).  Today I did 3 sets of 10 real push ups.  Also, me physical therapist (who I have been seeing to get my knee in shape) had recommended some leg lifts.  When I started I was shaking after 7.  Now I am doing sets of 12 with ankle weights!

I will have to have Jane get some pics of me doing my workouts so I can show what I am doing.

I looked at the weather forecast yesterday and saw we were supposed to get snow.  I figured I had better get out on the KLR for one last street ride before winter sets in.  Usually the roads do get pretty well cleared and within a few days are ridable (assuming you don't hit an unexpected patch of ice) but the real problem is my driveway.  It is usually a sheet of ice all winter long.  So, just getting the bike from the garage to the street is nearly impossible.

I needed some tune up parts for the snow blower so I took a nice little ride to the local Tractor Supply Co.  I didn't find what I needed but I did have a nice little ride.

Just as expected today we got 9 inches of snow.  Temps are supposed to barely hit the freezing point for the next week so the snow isn't going anwhere and the KLR is stuck in the garage.  I have some maintenance I need to do on it so I might start tearing into it when I am off work for Christmas.  I think I put on around 9000 miles on it this year.  Not bad considering I work from home so it has not seen any work commute miles like it did last year.  Of course over 5000 of those miles were from my big trip this summer.

I might however get the IT200 out and play around in the snow!