Advice for bad riding conditions

[jfaith15]

The city I live in (kind of outside it) can get very cold (negative degrees) and snows more than anywhere else I’ve lived. It also has a huge college campus just outside of it, and you could probably guess how competent and decent the students who drive here are. The area is made of hills, some being very steep. The roads don’t have great paving to begin with, but they can get particularly dangerous when they have ice, salt, or construction debris on them. A fun little story about the shit roads here:

When I was brand new to riding last Fall, I fell off my Honda Rebel 250 (no ABS) going 40mph down a hill to avoid sliding into traffic because I had lost traction riding over construction debris and slid when I tried to brake. Miraculously, the bike and I only sustained minor injuries, which baffles me every time I think about it.

All of that is just to say, it’s not a great place to be an inexperienced rider in. Because of that, I was wondering if anyone had tips or advice for owning and riding a motorcycle in such conditions? Maybe specifically about cold weather riding, dealing with hills, shitty drivers, or winter bike maintenance?

I realize that these questions are quite broad and likely hard to think of answers for- sorry about that. Still, if anyone has any wisdom to impart on me, I’d appreciate and probably benefit a lot from it.

[navigator]

Have you taken the MSF motorcycle safety course?
It is invaluable, even if you have been riding for a long time.
They will teach you avoidance techniques, how to swerve around objects. Starting and standing on hills, sustaining bad road conditions, etc.
Just do it!

[Herb]

Have you taken the MSF motorcycle safety course?
It is invaluable, even if you have been riding for a long time.
They will teach you avoidance techniques, how to swerve around objects. Starting and standing on hills, sustaining bad road conditions, etc.
Just do it!

Best advice I can think of.