Since winter is rapidly coming on, and some say is already here, this is a good time to cover some winter riding tips.

There are plenty of hazards during the good riding seasons. Winter brings some that if we are not aware of, or have forgotten, could cause problems.

•  Reduced daylight means more night riding with reduced visibility caused by darkness, rain, and fog.
   

• Let your eyes adjust to the darkness before starting out.
   

• To save your night vision use the right-edge fog line as a guide when oncoming traffic passes then return your focus to the road ahead.
   

• Make sure all your lights are working and think about adding more to increase your visibility.
   

• If you haven’ t replaced your tinted visor with a clear, now is the time.
   

• Increased rain and fog will make the roads slicker more often. Stay out of oily center lanes and off of plastic traffic arrows. Both can be very slick when wet.
   

• Windy weather presents problems when wind gusts try to blow you off the road. Be ready to counter steer to lean the motorcycle upwind quickly and to straighten it up when the gust has passed. You do counter steer don’ t you?. Practice until it is second nature and you don’ t have to think about it.
   

• Watch out for surface hazards on the roads. They increase greatly in winter. Just because there wasn’ t a chuck hole there yesterday doesn’ t mean there won’ t be one today.
   

• Watch for sand used on icy roads. It gets pushed to the outside of lanes and often collects near the curb. Watch the street surface and make wider turns. If you have to cross loose sand, keep your motorcycle more vertical, avoid rapid acceleration, hard braking, or sharp turns while driving through it.
   

• Finally, remember to stay warm. Hypothermia causes our brains to slow down resulting in serious mistakes. Insulate your neck and head. Use electric heating if your going to be out long or the temperatures are low. Remember, the wind takes away a lot of your body heat and cannot be made up without help.

These are just a few winter riding tips. Hopefully, they will remind you of some of the things you may have forgotten. There are lots of good safe-riding information available and, remember, safe motorcycle riding is mostly mental.

Ride Safe.

Ken Dean, Chapter Rider Educator