Last year I had to deal with two patches of snow, one on Roan Mountain early in the fall and one on the Blue Ridge Parkway in early spring. Neither are experiences that I would want to repeat again. On Roan Mountain I was able to navigate through the slushy stuff and keep the tires mostly on the road. On the Parkway I tried to follow cager tracks through a big stretch of snow only to run out of clear road. Turning the bike around on snow on a road that was cambered downhill toward a big drop-off with no guardrails was just plain insane.
The snow on Roan Mountain was unexpected as the rest of the road was clear, but that one shady spot had not melted. I could have avoided the snow on the BRP when I first saw it by just turning around. I was pretty confident that the cager traffic and the sun on most of the road would see me through to Mt. Mitchell. Never confuse confidence with good judgment.
After realizing my limited ability to control a motorcycle on snow, I wonder if any of you folks ride in the snow. The general consensus is that attempting to ride on snow or even worse, ice is just asking for a crash. But there are more than a few sites on the web that discuss riding on snow and ice as if it were possible to develop skills that would let you do so with some degree of safety. I don't see how.
I spend a lot of time in the mountains in the winter. Every one of my vehicles is either a conventional 4x4 or an all wheel drive with ABS and traction control. Even these vehicles, with four tires under them and a computer trying to maintain traction, can have real issues on snow covered roads. When it comes to ice, nothing maintains traction for very long.
Here is one generally respected site that discusses riding on snow and in cold weather in general.
Riding a Motorcycle in Cold and Snow - Surviving the Streets - Motorcycle Cruiser
What do you think; is it possible to ride a motorcycle in the snow?
Pete
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