Re: First ride of the new season

Ah! The downsides of living in a cold country. Here every season is riding season!

Re: First ride of the new season

True, but on the other hand even at the peak of summer I won't melt while wearing full riding gear. Typical highs are in the 25-30C range. We maybe have 4 or 5 days a year where the temps go above 32-33, and in the autumn all the trees turn stunning shades of red/orange/yellow.

Re: First ride of the new season


Hahaha. Yes, the wonderful Indian summer! That is when we ride to the hills

Those autumn colours though shut the argument right there

Re: First ride of the new season


N.B. for those readers who don't know what I'm referring to when talking about those colors, I currently live in the Northeastern region of the US, which is called "New England". The climate here is very hospitable to a certain species of tree called the Maple tree (the one that we get real maple syrup from). The maple tree's sap is very high in sugar content, and that affects its leaves. When autumn arrives, and the trees go dormant for the winter, the chlorophyll in the leaves dies off and reveals the natural coloration of the leaves for a period of about two weeks. Along with a few other species of trees that have similar coloration, this produces a show of unusual splendor for that two-week period. The weather is often dry and clear, with temperatures in the high teens C to low twenties. The combination of the two makes for some of the best riding to be found anywhere. Here's a brief glimpse:





Those colors are not retouched or adjusted in photoshop, and are actually a bit brighter than that in real life, since that first picture was taken on a cloudy day. If you ever have the chance, visit the Southern Vermont/South and Central New Hampshire/Massachusetts region in late September to early October. There are websites that track the color change (it shifts from the North to the South over about two months) including local reports on the color change, so you can find the best times and places to visit. Be warned that this phenomenon is a big tourist attraction for US residents from other parts of the country as well (they don't get quite the same level of color), so hotels are booked far in advance and the best back roads for taking leisurely drives and looking at the colors are often crowded with slow-moving traffic. You'll find lots of small roadside farm stands selling hot apple cider and cinnamon donuts as well as New England-themed handicrafts (some of these are now mass-produced rather than true local products so examine carefully) and other local produce (corn, pumpkins, honey).

If you do come, there are places where you can rent motorcycles; again, these are likely booked far in advance so get your reservation in early. Some places even offer managed motorcycle tours, so you get the bike, hotels, and a guide (or at least a mapped route) all in a package. PM me for info, as I can help connect you to vendors since I'm local.

Re: First ride of the new season

Thanks for the information and the offer to help do a ride there. These scenes are beautiful and one can only imagine what it looks like in real life. I believe Canada would also have similar landscapes? They do have the maple leaf on their flag after all!

Re: First ride of the new season

Surprisingly, Canada doesn't have all that many maples (or other deciduous trees). The climate there is cold enough that most of their forests are made up of various types of evergreens (white pine, fir, hemlock, spruce etc). Sugar Maples (the one on the Canadian flag) are found in the two eastern provinces of Canada, and one or two species can be found all the way up to Hudson Bay and the central regions of the various provinces. I haven't traveled in Canada much, but most of the developed areas of Canada are concentrated along the US-Canada border. Once you get up into the central and northern areas, it's pretty empty. Many of the "cities" marked on the map of northern Canada wouldn't be big enough to include on the map if they were further south.