# Some cold weather riding...........



## 1Alpha1 (Feb 2, 2019)

https://www.facebook.com/1627862234152876/posts/2222324041373356/

Those guys are badass hardcore bikers. The annual meet was first held in 1956.
Camping is mandatory, regardless of the temperatures.

This year they met in the "Bayrischer Wald" (Bavarian forest) mountains region "to make sure that there is enough snow" as their official site says.






You have to get there on your own two wheels. This pic from their website sums up their attitude:

IMG_2214.JPG


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## chuckwood (Feb 2, 2019)

1Alpha1 said:


> https://www.facebook.com/1627862234152876/posts/2222324041373356/
> 
> Those guys are badass hardcore bikers. The annual meet was first held in 1956.
> Camping is mandatory, regardless of the temperatures.
> ...



I used to ride in winter just as much as summer when I was a hardcore biker. I got into long distance bike touring in a sort of weird way. I'd done a lot of backpacking before I got into motorcycles, and I used my motorbikes as a sort of extension of my packpacking days. It was early 70 's era and I tried a number of different bikes until I settled on a Honda CB 450 for cruising in the mountains and camping overnite. I tried a 750 four for a while, and it couldn't do what the 450 could do off road and on dirt and gravel. The sissy bar was easy to install and I strapped a backpack onto to it. Had tent, sleeping bag, cookstove, freeze dried food, rain jacket, dry clothes, pretty much all the same stuff you take backpacking except I adapted it for motorcycling. I'd take three day weekends and cruise up and down the Blue Ridge Parkway starting out of the Great Smokies in Cherokee NC. Many times instead of staying in motels and official campgrounds I'd go around locked gates on the Parkway and proceed down the mountain on obscure dirt and gravel roads. The 450 was nimble enough to take off road, I'd always sooner or later find a spot to do some stealth camping. Set up camp quietly and quickly, make supper inside yer tent, and be quiet as possible, NO campfires, be in stealth camping mode - yer likely on federally owned land with the Park Rangers as caretakers. Be smart and stay out of their way and attract as little attention as possible and you'll be fine. I changed the hooker headers I had on the 450 back to the very quiet stock mufflers. I rode the BRP in winter all the time provided it was open. I gets cold up there in the high country so I was wearing down jackets and other mountaineering gear to keep warm in cold windblast. The very craziest ride I ever made happened one night in winter when I rode around the locked gates on the BRP and rode with my lights off. There was a real bright full moon and the snow in the mountains reflected all the moonlight back and lit everything up enough to ride just fine with no lights. With lights on I was risking getting busted for riding on the closed parkway, with bare trees headlights up there would be visible to anyone down in the valleys. There were patches of snow and ice on the road, but I could see them and avoid it. I cornered very carefully and slowly, making as little engine noise as possible. Rode for miles that way and had the entire place to myself. It was really spooky and probably foolhardy as well. No cell phones then, if I'd wrecked and disabled the bike I'd have had to walk back to civilization. One time I got caught on the BRP in cold drizzle and thick fog. I was riding in pea soup, my helmet visor was constantly fogging up, and I was getting cold and wet. I realized that I was pushing myself into an accident and I pulled off the road and set up camp in a small field right next to the road. Camping there was a clear violation but I could have cared less - I couldn't go on and it was around 11 pm. Woke up at 3 am to my tent being lit up by headlights, and I heard the crackle of a police radio. The ranger walked over to my spot to take a closer look and then left. I packed up the tent next morning and left, never got hassled by the rangers. The Honda 450 when tuned good could do 100 mph and cruise all day long at 75 with no complaints or breakdowns. Wish I still had that bike now.


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## Huskybill (Nov 14, 2019)

I put the ice screws in my tires in my ‘77 husky 250 cr street legal dirtbike and went out in a ice storm. The guys in there trucks with the Harley stickers just shook there heads as I went by.


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## keepreal (Oct 29, 2020)

Maybe you can find some infomation on ***********.


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## Huskybill (Oct 31, 2020)

I put on those one piece trap door red long johns, a sweat shirt, a hunting camp insulated bib, insulated hunting boots, helmet, the trick with gloves is those damark insulated gloves inside leather mittens from sportsmans guide. With the wind foil plastic bark busters my hands never got cold.
We rode after snowstorms, during ice storms was my favorite. But riding the pipeline in mass. Was fun with the snowmobiles.


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