Winter Motorcycle Safety

March 7, 2012 By thesurvivalmama 2 Comments

Surviving the Winter on a Motorcycle – Guest Post

Today, I’m excited to introduce Gina Williams to you as our guest today. Gina is passionate about motorcycle safety, and I asked her to give you some safety tips for winter motorcycle riding. How does that fit with survival, you may ask? Great question Bikes are a great survival tool to maneuver around and through traffic in both evacuation scenarios, and if roads have experienced trauma, but those situations don’t always happen during the warm summer months. Here are Gina’s tips on winter safety:

Winter conditions are some of the worst for those that love to ride motorcycles. Some motorcyclists even cease riding altogether during the winter months due to its harsh conditions; the most common months for riding are between May and the fall.

However, for those whose only vehicle is a motorcycle, or those who refuse to let weather get in the way of their fun, here are some tips for surviving the winter on a motorcycle.

Adjust Your Riding Gear

No matter what time of the year it is, you should always wear the right gear:

Protective gloves and shoes.
A protective jacket and pair of pants, or a full-riding suit.
A Department of Transportation (DOT) approved helmet, at all times.

The winter, however, requires that you wear heavy winter clothes in addition to your protective clothes. So you must make sure that either you have gear specifically for the winter or that your all-year gear can accommodate this additional bulk.

In particular you will need to:

Utilize a pair of waterproof winter gloves, which have an insulating liner; hands and fingers tend to be the extremities that get the coldest when riding.
Add wind deterring clothing to your helmet; use a beanie, scarf, and/or ski mask to protect your face, head, and eyes while riding.
Layer your clothing to ensure you retain adequate heat.
Wear waterproof riding boots.
Wear brightly colored clothing to make yourself visible to other drivers; snow can decrease motorists’ visibility, and as many non-winter accidents are caused by motorists not seeing a motorcyclist, decreased visibility during the winter may increase your chances of not being seen. Thus it is imperative that you are as visible as possible to other motorists.

During the winter you will want to be completely covered, from head to toe, to protect yourself from the cold, wind, and snow.

Make Sure Your Tires Are Ready

If you live in very cold conditions during the winter, it is imperative that you acquire winter tires. These tires are specifically designed to stay flexible despite the low temperatures, which causes ordinary tires to become hardened and less capable of gripping the road. Grip is imperative in winter conditions, and the threads and grooves on winter tires differ from normal tires to help motorcycles better grip the road. Additionally, you may want to consider purchasing studs or chains if you live in particularly harsh winter conditions.

Take Extra Precautions

If you’re riding in the snow or ice, be extra cautions. Ride slower than you normally would and keep in mind that falling rain and snow, as well as snow and ice on the ground, make riding more dangerous. Also keep in the mind that said conditions affect the motorists around you; thus, you should be as mindful as possible to your surroundings to protect yourself from others’ mistakes or misfortunes.

Know When to Fold

When it comes down to it, your safety is the most important part of riding. If the conditions are so bad that it is impossible, or nearly impossible, to ride, then don’t. You need to understand that at some point it becomes not about your skill level or experience, but about it simply not being safe to ride. Sometimes, you need to just let winter win.

Gina Williams is a guest post and article writer bringing to us tips for surviving the winter on a motorcycle.

Gina also writes articles on motorcycle safety, which feature motorcycle accident pictures.

Image: Jon Whiles / FreeDigitalPhotos.net

Filed Under: Transportation Tagged With: community, jen greyson, prep, winter, winter driving

Aquaponics – Weeklong Segment (Part 2) & The Tuesday Train

April 4, 2011 By thesurvivalmama 2 Comments

Yesterday, I introduced the uninitiated (me) to aquaponics.

Today, you get a close-up of the operation over at Growing Power. They’re in Wisconsin. If they can grow year-round like this, anyone can. I’m amazed at how much food they’re growing with this system. Because they took growing vertical, they multiplied the harvest!

Love it.
(I ordered my greenhouse over the weekend, don’t tell anyone I’ve been watching these videos

Take a Ride on the Train!

Tuesday Train is a weekly link-up hosted by My Mad Mind and The Survival Mama and The House on the Corner and With “Faith, Family, and Friends!”. Here’s how it works:

Follow the hostess and co-hostesses (first through fourth spot on the linky)
Leave a comment if you’re a new follower and I will follow back.
Include the link-up button in your post!
Link up your blog post for “Tuesday Train”.
Have fun!

While you’re at it, be sure to swing over and see Boobies and the Follow Me Back Tuesday hop.

Filed Under: Food Storage, Gardening, Organic, Survival, Sustainability Tagged With: animals, aquaponics, gardening, greenhouse, winter

A Good Weatherman is Only Right 50% of The Time

February 15, 2011 By thesurvivalmama 6 Comments

Weathermen Only Have to Be 50% Right

Photo: Tom Skilling

It seems like a great job: Sometime, over the next day, it’s going to snow.

I realize guessing when Mother Nature is going to blow her top is a tricky business, but geez I could use a tighter window.

During our last blizzard, I thought I had plenty of time to get where I needed to go. One quick errand, and then home. (As usual) I’d been pushing my limits with the gas tank, thinking I’d stop and get gas on the way home.

The storm hit early, and I was caught during rush hour, in 8 inches of snow, trying to navigate through snowy streets and scared drivers. What should have taken 10 minutes turned into a 2 hour project. My gas gauge continued to dip, and I barely made it to the gas station.

Major lesson for me.

I lucked out, and stayed on the roads, even though I was traveling at under 2 miles an hour. If I would have slid off the road and needed to keep the car running to stay warm until help arrived, I’d have been in an escalated situation.

Since blizzards tend to strike before they’re scheduled… plan ahead… way ahead.

Filed Under: Emergency Prep, Navigation Tagged With: driving, winter

Bundling Mamas for Snowmobiling

January 27, 2011 By thesurvivalmama 3 Comments

Layering for Winter Activities

After yesterday’s post about bundling kids for outdoor adventure and snowmobiling, I had a few requests for what my layers look like when we go snowmobiling.

(ok, ok, that’s TOTALLY not me)

First, let me start by saying I’m never more than 3 feet from the fireplace, and usually in a sweatshirt, fleece pants, and thick socks (in the Winter, it’s MUCH worse). I’m ALWAYS cold. Always. When Rockstar asked me to go snowmobiling with him the first time, I thought he was out of his mind.

Then I had a BLAST! Snowmobiling is the one winter activity I will bundle up for because I love it so much. But, if I ever get cold during a ride, the fun is over in a hurry.

Here’s how I layer to stay warm – and most important DRY while we’re riding snowmobiles.

BOTTOM:

Layer #1:

Nylons. I’m not sure why they’re such a great insulating layer, but I notice a HUGE difference when I wear them.

Layer #2:

Long Johns. I scored an awesome new pair from Cuddl Duds and tried them last trip and I’m impressed. They’re incredibly thin, but very warm. Every penny you spend here will be worth double when you’re in the middle of a ride!!

Layer #3:

Snowboard pants. Yes, these are an inner layer because like I said yesterday, there’s snowmobile-waterproof, and there’s snowboard-waterproof. If you ride sleds in snowboard gear, you will hate your day and will freeze! But, as an inner layer, they’re incredibly warm and comfy.

Layer#4:

Thin Socks.

Layer #5:

Thick Socks. (I steal Rockstar’s)

TOP:

Layer #6:

Underarmour. There is a specific winter option of the Underarmour that is amazing. Don’t wear the summer one, it won’t work.

Layer #7:

Long johns. Wearing the Cuddl Duds top layer too. Love them. I probably defeat some of the wicking properties of the fabric, but here’s the deal, I’m a girl. I don’t sweat like a guy. I need warmth warmth warmth.

Layer #8:

Long sleeve tshirt.

Layer#9:

Short sleeve tshirt. Yes, put them on in this order so the sleeves stick out underneath the short sleeve T…it fits better.

I’ll get in the truck at this point.

Layer #10:

Sweatshirt. NO hood. I love hoodies, but when I’m sledding they get in the way of my headgear, and collect snow. Not cool.

Layer #11:

KLIM snow pants. These are expensive. And worth every cent. They are SNOWMOBILE waterproof!!! They are the greatest pants EVER. I wear the bibs because I’m a crappy rider, and in the snow a lot – bibs keep snow out of my underwear, which I find can really ruin my day.

Layer #12:

Snowboarding jacket. Any winter jacket will work at this point. I like the snowboard one because it’s cute and I can leave a little princess on the outside. I recommend a LONG jacket to keep your butt warm, but if you spring for the KLIM gear it won’t matter much.

Layer #13:

Fleece Balaclava

I like this one for a number of reasons. One, it’s fuzzy. Two, it’s warm and covers my whole head. Three, the children are wearing all my other ones. Mine is also red so they can find my body when I go flinging off the mountain somewhere.

Layer #14 (wow, I really do wear a LOT of crap):

Mittens. Yes, I wear mittens. Because they’re WARMER than gloves. Any ski/snowbard mittens will work. If you can find a pair with the visor/goggle wiper it’s a major bonus.

Layer #15:

Helmet. I used to have a full-face with a visor, but there was an incident, and now my full-face has goggles. I don’t love it. I prefer the options with the visor, and I move the visor around a lot while we ride: little bit open, lot open when we’re stopped.

Add sled.

I get to ride a Bad Ass Ski-Doo. I LOVE this sled. It’s light, it’s responsive, and I don’t feel like I’m about to go flinging off the mountain (see layer #13). Rockstar rides a humongous growling Cat something or other, because, well, he’s a Rockstar and can handle it. Me, I feel it’s like riding a barely trained stallion and I’m about to go flinging off the mountain at any moment.

The Mama Snowmobile creed:
Hang on, Haul ass, don’t get ditched.

100% of the credit for the Mama Snowmobile creed goes to The Notorious Rider, Mama Tonya

Filed Under: Emergency Prep, Survival Tagged With: clothes, layers, winter

Not Quite Randy – Bundling Kids for Snowmobiling

January 26, 2011 By thesurvivalmama 8 Comments

Cold Weather Wear for Kids

My kids might not look quite like Randy when we head up the mountain, but some days, it’s pretty close.

Since we’re not exactly building snowmen in the yard, 3 feet from warmth and hot chocolate, I’ve had to be fairly inventive about layering them to survive a 3-hour snowmobile trip up the mountain.

Last week’s weather was a balmy 29 degrees – a heat wave compared to the 0 on New Year’s Day – but I layered just the same, because around here you just never know.

Layer #1:

Mama’s dress socks. Seriously. They look like they’re wearing thigh high stockings, and that’s exactly the layer I’m looking for. Pantyhose/nylons are a great first layer.

Layer #2:

Sweats. Sure, I could go out and spend $30 on long johns that will fit them for one season, but it’s SO much easier to use their sweats, and they get the same warmth factor.

Layer #3:

Sweats. Nope, not a duplication. I put one thin pair of sweats on and follow them with a thick pair. I think sweats are warmer, and more comfy – both which keep my kids from getting cranky.

Layer #3:

Sweats. Kind of. I put the 4 year old in a pair of nylon running pants, with a slick outer covering and fuzzy inside.

Layer #4:

Thin socks.

Layer #5:

Thick socks.

Layer #6:

Long sleeve tshirt.

Layer #7:

Short sleeve tshirt.

Minus layer #3 – I’ll put them in the car at this point. The rest goes in a gear bag, and I put it on when we get on the mountain, before I get them out of the car.

Layer #8:

Sweatshirt.

Layer #9:

Ski Bibs. Here’s the thing about snowmobiling: most of the time you’re sitting on a wet seat, and every time you get off, you get more snow on your seat. There is a HUGE difference between “skiing” waterproof and “snowmobiling” waterproof. Big Monkey’s pair have a cordura seat, and it really is “snowmobile” waterproof. I got a smokin’ deal on them, and found them two sizes too big – - which by the way is a MINIMUM.

Layer #10:

Ski jacket. Right now, they both have down jackets, and they’re the warmest ones I’ve seen. Outlets have the best prices – and again, two sizes too big. Big Monkey’s have a double layer in the sleeve. Inner cuff is elastic, outer is velcro.

Layer #11:

Balaclava.

Not Baklava:

The balaclava is without a doubt, the MOST important piece of clothing my boys wear. It stays put under helmets, keeps sensitive ear canals, cheeks, and noses warm.

Layer #12:

Boots. I found a great BOGO sale and bought them a nice pair this year with liners. Several critical points about boots: removable liners, top tightening strap to keep snow out, VERY good straps at the ankle to keep boots on! If you can find temperature ratings on the boots, go as low as you can. The pairs I found were rated to -25.

Layer #13:

Helmet. Big Monkey prefers a motor-cross style helmet with goggles. Little monkey doesn’t care yet, and wears a full face visor. There are some amazing options out there for kids.

Layer #14: (yes, it just keeps going!!!)

Mittens. I finally found an amazing choice for mittens. They have a waterproof-ish exterior, extremely warm guts, and A ZIPPER UP THE SIDE. I can’t ever get their fingers jammed down in a regular pair of mittens, but these were fabulous. Right after Christmas, I found them 40% off, which made me even happier.

I take handwarmers with me, and some days it’s cold enough to use them (zero) but if it’s regular sledding weather, the mittens by themselves are warm enough.

Final Layer:

Snowmobile.

This list looks extensive, but it only takes me about 15 minutes to get them both finished and on the sleds.