December Weather in NorthEast USA
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I know right! It is crazy. I live in apartment in Brooklyn and keep my bike on the street with a cover during fair weather months. However, I do pay for a garage monthly during the iffy months, and store it at my mom's house from Dec to Feb out on Long Island which is about 22 miles away when it is really cold in NY and there is snow on the ground. No sense in paying or the monthly garage fee for 3 months with small chance of being able to use it.
I dropped it off last week but geez, the past few days have been killing me. I visited my mom yesterday, and took the Raven out for a ride, but kept it there. I wish it was here! Might have to pick it up tomorrow and see if I can't squeeze out another week.
I dropped it off last week but geez, the past few days have been killing me. I visited my mom yesterday, and took the Raven out for a ride, but kept it there. I wish it was here! Might have to pick it up tomorrow and see if I can't squeeze out another week.
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east coast is great right now just bought the bike a little over 3 weeks ago and I already put 1100 miles on 
DD
DD
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I'm in Brooklyn. Are you up in the 'cuse, Finger Lakes, Catskills,? People only think of the city when you say "New York."It's amazing, It's absurd to think the weather is this nice, this late in the year in NY. couple shots from friday:
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People are ignorant of the fact or forget we have amazing beaches on Long Island especially int eh Hamptons, amazing bucolic wineries and fields along the beaches of the North Fork, the city, of course, and beautiful mountains and countryside upstate, which is huge. NY is by no means a small state. The Hudson River Valley is awesome to explore-little towns and shops, art scenes, idyllic spots along the cliffs of the Hudson, and amazing rides on the Palisades Parkway and Taconic which is the paradigm for "ideal" thruways.
The Fall foliage is other worldly when it is changing. The Rockies might be bigger and more majestic, but the Catskills and Adirondacks have so much beauty and character. Plus it isn't alpine desert with only Aspen trees and such. The trees and forests are dense and verdant. Plus NY borders two great lakes, and you can ride to Canada and enjoy Toronto, Quebec City, and Montreal. The latter two are absolutely beautiful and remiscent of Europe, but have a character and culture all their own.
If you are not from NY, I highly recommend getting advice on all there is to do, and besides ust doing all the city stuff, explore the Hudson River Valley, West Point, Bear Mountain, some of the old mansions from the Gilded Age which are usually open to the public, and check out Montreal.
A spot along the Taconic
Here is a nice guide from motorcycleroads.com which they call "The 70 Mile Hudson River Bridge Tour" which is very descriptive.
http://www.motorcycleroads.com/75/403/New-York/The-70-Mile-Hudson-River-Bridge-Tour.html
It is a beautiful ride and highly recommended. Done the exact route. This is the Bear mountain bridge and there are tons of twisties and you'll see tons of bike brethren on the road!
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Oh cool. You're up there! I don't know the area that well since I mainly go to the Catskills from Brooklyn/Long Island. I'm guessing it's part of the southern Adirondacks since it doesn't look like the northern part with its higher mountains and peak, of course I could be wrong. I'll be camping up in the Adirondacks this Spring. Going for a bike ride with my buddy, and then camping a couple of days. Can't wait!
It's a little nippy out there today, but I have off! So I am working on the Raven a bit and getting some of my new goodies on it! Then I'm layering up, slapping my skull face neck gator on, and going for a quick ride. I'll still ride until it drops below 30. Cold, smold!
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Pretty sure I ran into you on reddit when you posted these to r/motorcycles, haha!It's amazing, It's absurd to think the weather is this nice, this late in the year in NY. couple shots from friday:
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But yea, this weather is fantastic. I picked the right year to buy a bike. Its been beautiful in the midwest as well, but its starting to get cold again
My bike is stored away now, probably not coming out until it starts to warm up again after Feb.
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Talk about crazy weather, I'm in Huntington Beach, CA and when I left yesterday morning to meet up with my Tuesday ride it was 33 degrees here and never got over 55 degrees all day. Had my Gerbings on so my body was OK but my hands were freezing. Rode about 315 miles which is a short Tuesday ride for me. Went down to the desert for lunch and it was barely 60 degrees down there. Overall that's about 20 degrees cooler than normal. Weird!
Marc
Marc
Do you know where in the park you are headed? just curious. You are gonna have a blast though, beautiful scenery and lots of roads to explore with very little in terms of development.
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Are you going to be walking around the Adirondacks in a hockey goalie mask and carrying an axe during the night or something? My buddy is such a skittish scaredy cat.:0
Not yet. I do a lot of day hikes and backpacking but mainly in the Catskills. My friends always go to Lake George but do the house and boat thing. I've been to Whiteface and Lake Placid and a couple of other areas. Went comping there a few times with my Dad and Bro when I was a kid but have no idea where. I have a camping book and maps, so probably going to refer to it, and look at some camping forums for trail and mountain reviews.
I like to hike a couple of miles up and find one of the nice trail lean to sheds they Park Service has around, or at least they used to, or some times my tent. But if we're riding we will probably have to bear bones it gear wise, and get a lot of the water and food locally before we disembark.
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Easy for a SoCal guy to say! Man, I was in the Army 8 years as a tanker. 6 months of the year out in the field-either in the cold or rain, or in the Mojave desert at NTC in June or July in 120 degree heat which was Ft Carson, CO's rotation where I spent most of my career. 120 degrees in full combat uniform (t-shirt, body armor, and Nomex tanker uniform) and MOPP gear (Nuclear Biological Chemical) suit at all times. 2 uniforms for 15 day rotation in the NTC "box." PT at 6am whether its 90 degrees, 15 degrees, raining, snowing, or what have you. Pushups, situps, & 5-10 mile run. Now that I've been out since 2004, & gotten older, I am not as tough.:laugh:
I keep it at my Mom's out on Long Island since I don't want it in the street with these idiot drivers who can't park & during 9 months of the year I pay $150 a month for garaging it during inclement weather days. But during Dec-Feb I move it to my Moms and keep it there 20 miles away from Brooklyn. I'll still ride during the winter, and I don't even have good winter gloves or a winter parka yet. The problem is after the first snow fall, they like to be lazy and not plow but over sand and salt the roads. You get sand dunes around corners to go along with the other NY metro road hazards like debris, pot holes, etc.
They're cheap on the roads, so guys have jobs patching the roads. If they engineered the road better they'd cost twice as much, but last 3 times as long. It's part of the economic/lobbyist/union/political cycle of "legal rackets" present everywhere in this country. Like alternate side parking in NYC. You have to move your car from 9:30-11 for street cleaners 2-4 days out of the week. I work full time and go to grad school. So sometimes I can find a spot for the next day and get a $45 ticket. Total garbage. Why people put up with it is beyond me. Streets need to be cleaned and a-holes won't move they're cars and park them anywhere in NY, but really, it's just another revenue stream nickel and diming us.
I do admire that Cali gets nice weather and its conducive to riding and racing culture more prevalent in SoCal. But I do like 4 seasons. California is big enough to have everything like NY has-mountains, beaches, cities, etc. But luckily NY is an older city and not built like a city predicated on the American dream city-sprawling, no mass transit, and built on the American love affair with automobile & open road. It's more green and sustainable as people walk and if they didn't have to shovel, they'd probably get no PT. I might bitch o some cold days, but I think it's good for you. If my parents didn't move from LA to NY before I was born, I would have been a California kid but I am a NYer to the bone. My Aunt still lives in Gardena and likes to announce the weather there duinrg winter months in NY when she calls.
If I didn't live here, I'd be living in Colorado or California for sure, but I am fonder of northern California like San Francisco/San Jose/Cupertino, but might be a function of spending more time there and being an IT/Tech guy. Every place has its pros and cons. I am a total northern yankee though. There is something special about the mid-Atlantic and New England, but a lot of this country is nice like Seattle, Oregon, and Utah, where I have skied a lot. I simply could not live in the Midwest or the South. Spent 3 years in Oklahoma, and almost begged the Army to send me to Iraq instead. It was that bad.
Anyway, I'll shut up. The cold can be hazardous for the sand and debris and your hands get numb and affect your ability along with fogging up when you stop. Just be careful out there. You're just not as comfortable and nimble out there when you're cold. When it's already a 25 degree wind chill out there and you're doing 80, it's pretty brutal on the bike. NY is cold enough. I don't get how you can live in even colder areas. NY is mild compared to places like Wisconsin, Minnesota, Canada, etc. I refuse to wear heated gear. But maybe I'll change my tune one day.0
Now I'm rambling. I digress, and I'll shut up.Sadly upstate NY looks like it might finally have winter show up, but I just cannot complain. I mean I went on 2 nice rides on christmas...in new freaking york.Another near 70 degree day here in the NE.
Gettn some ride on today
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