Winter sees #ride5000miles members share their top riding tips

It’s officially winter, so getting out on your bike is harder. You have to spend more time watching the weather forecast for a window of opportunity, more time kitting up and more time washing the bike afterwards.

But you only have to hear what our #ride5000miles Facebook members say, to realise it is worth it. This week our Facebook group have been sharing their winter wisdom and encouraging others to get riding.

John Ralston decided now was a good time to take his ten-year-old daughter for her first go on the back of his Triumph motorcycle.

He said: “When it started to rain I asked if she liked it and she said ‘it’s amazing! The best thing I have ever done’.

“We went to the local cafe and she saw a classmate as we were getting on the bike. She will be the cool girl on Monday morning. We bought the gear last week and she couldn’t wait; we have a convert.”

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Graeme Dawson also outlines the importance of kit. “Good clothing is everything. Don’t go cheap – you get what you pay for with heated kit. I have a waistcoat for short trips which I wear over a thermal vest with a fleece over both. For longer rides full heated jacket sleeves, body and neck, and last of all, good fitting boots are a must.”

“Heated grips and hand guards help,” says Paula Holmes (pictured above). “If possible eat before you ride. This is a great time of year to ride and there are a lot less bikes about. I commute all year and love it, through choice not necessity, it saves me hours a week not sitting in traffic.”

“ACF50 applied with a mist gun and then a small brush to get into the bolt heads,” helps keep your bike corrosion-free, says Duncan Costin. “Apply a few times over winter months, but be careful on areas that rely on friction to do their job – tyres, brake discs and pads, saddle, grips, levers and tops of footpegs.”

But it’s John Ireland that sums up the joy of winter riding best: “My 20-mile commute was ace; no traffic just me, the open road and the sun rising through the mist. There’s some spectacular ones this time of year, so ride to your sunset.”

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