Snow Days and Sharpening the Saw

Growing up in Maine, where year-round riding is only possible using snow mobiles, was much different than living at my current home in sunny Southern California. Since moving here, in winter I sometimes tease my East Coast friends with photos of our mild California weather and stories from a day’s ride, while their world lies beneath a blanket of snow. Our riding season has few interruptions, but we still have downtimes (or “Snow Days,” as we will call them) especially with all the COVID closings. And even here, inclement weather can toss a wrench into the works now and then. For some adventure riders, winter means trickle chargers on the batteries, Sea Foam in the fuel tanks, and covers on their bikes. During lockdown, social media is full of creative and funny ways to deal with cabin fever and clever tips on how to stay ready to ride. In an appropriately socially distanced way, we were all together.

How do we keep our sanity, make good use of the non-riding season, and prepare to be ride-ready when springtime comes? What does “ride-ready” even mean? Is it about honing riding skills or maintaining a certain level of physical fitness? Could it mean keeping our bikes fully prepared and properly maintained? Perhaps it’s a state of mind, an ever-present desire to get out and experience new places or to say “yes” to those invitations from riding buddies. Any or all of those answers might apply. Here are a few ways we can stay ride-ready during the winter lockdown.

• Plan Adventures

Attitude is everything. Having confidence, staying positive and digging deep have been factors in my own successful competitions and have made the most challenging adventures fun. Planning is one of the best parts of an adventure and gives us something to do when we can’t ride. Keeping an adventure marked on the calendar always lifts the spirits. My calendar is filled with upcoming events, trips and rallies.

When not having adventures, Jocelin enjoys planning them, and she’s happy to share her trip planning tips with us.

If you find yourself locked down or snowed in, spend some time thumbing through social media, forums and websites that spark your interest in trip ideas. Save the best ones to your “bucket list.” Set your goals first, and then work backwards to figure out how you will achieve them. You can do the same with your riding to help stay engaged and motivated. My goals have ranged from planning new routes and making time to perform overdue maintenance, to eating better and sometimes just finding that extra push for my workouts. I also explore new navigational tools like MyScenicDrives.com, which help plan fun riding routes not far from home. Backcountry Discovery Route (BDR) DVDs, and Butler Maps are also great resources. Doing this can cheer you up, and even if you are feeling like a couch potato, it won’t be long before you’ll be chomping at the bit for your next trip.

• Keep Dreaming

Either we hold tightly to our dreams, or we live them. If we never chase our dreams, they grow stagnant. They are only dreams. This year, during a cold rain storm I planned an ultimate adventure ride for 2021, booking 60 days to tour China, Tibet, Nepal, India, Bhutan, Myanmar, and Thailand with some riding buddies. This is a lofty goal but if I don’t set a date and commit, I know it will never happen. Since booking the trip, that initial feeling of anticipation and excitement has yet to subside.

• Get Comfortable Being Uncomfortable

Our dreams can sometimes be intimidating. Did we dream too big? Is this realistic or am I setting myself up to fail? These may be real concerns but there will always be excuses. The trick is to know the difference. Leaving our comfort zones is by nature uncomfortable, but you get used to it. Before long, you’ll be loving it.

Ask yourself, “What am I too afraid to do?” “What do I really want to do?” and “What is my favorite kind of adventure?” Keep growing, pushing the boundaries and making lists of new personal firsts. A few new firsts for me will be sleeping outside with no shelter, attempting a difficult trail that has intimidated me, and taking a solo long-distance ride. Deciding to pursue the unknown is scary at first, but it gets easier with practice. And it’s necessary for me to become the best me I can be.

• Prep Work

To make dreams a reality, preparation gets the lion’s share of energy up front. Focus on getting both yourself and your motorcycle ready. Spend time building riding skills, catching up on bike maintenance and checking your gear for repair or replacement needs. Dig out the GPS and learn a few new features and tricks. Read magazine articles and watch relevant online videos on training and riding techniques. I even used some of my time last year creating videos of my own and posting them to YouTube.

When not riding, Jocelin enjoys bike prep and maintenance, which can help make hasslefree adventures.

A friend once said, “Perishable skills are like sand in an hourglass.” They slowly drain away and the only way to put them back is with practice. By practice, I mean more than just getting out for a casual ride. I am talking about dedicated practice time and repetitions focusing on building skills. As a Certified BMW International Off-Road Instructor, maintaining skill is critical. I do my best to get out and practice as often as work and life will allow. You can do the same and may benefit equally.

Last winter, the weather came in bunches. It rained for several days straight, the sun showing itself just long enough to dry things out and then we had several days of cold. During these dreary days, my bikes all received a thorough bath, a good inspection and some well-earned maintenance and repair. I even pulled a few forgotten machines from the barn and brushed off the cobwebs, updated the firmware on my Sena headset and washed the helmet liners. Camping gear got a look-over, too. It was also a great time to re-stock consumables in my first aid and tire repair kits.

• Fitness and Diet (well, sort of)

Not everyone has a gym membership and with the COVID lockdown a lot of workout facilities are restricted anyway. This leaves us with more time on our hands than usual. I combined fitness and diet into a home-spun routine of healthy projects, jumping head first into raised-bed gardening, building an outdoor fire pit table from a wine barrel, and working on my 15-acre backyard challenge course. Staying busy with work and all these extra projects helps us feel productive and keeps us fit.

Jocelin traded her treadmill for a trials bike. When you are stuck inside, you can still prep for the ride.

There are plenty of exercises to help adventure riders improve balance and physical ability that can be done right at home. For balance training, try a balance board or a pogo stick, (which is also great for cardio). On a few of those relentless rainy days, I would even bring my trials bike inside and balance on it while watching BDR movies. I know, pictures please? Maybe I’ll do a video.

Block out some time to work on core strength with traditional ab exercises: crunches, planks, leg lifts and scissor kicks. I have found that a strong core helps with keeping the bike under control and prevents back pain. However you choose to get fit, make a plan and do it.

Adventure beyond your local gym. Jocelin shares her unique workout plans with us, which include “moto-pogo!”

Down times can tempt us with sweets but, in general, I kept my diet in check with vegetables from my gardens. Sure, the bad food tastes good, but when we balance our diets with the good food, we feel better and are more energetic.

In the end, for those times we would love to ride but can’t, the next best thing is getting all wrapped up in everything that makes it possible: good health, a well-prepared machine and the skills to make next year better than the last. Snow days can be the best days to sharpen the saw so the next time we pick it up, it sings.

Jocelin Snow has been riding for over 35 years and has traveled by motorcycle all over the world. She is a BMW International GS Trophy Competitor as well as a Certified BMW International Off-Road Instructor. Having owned well over 40 motorcycles, she has competed in all types of motorcycle racing such as flat-track, supermoto, moto-cross, drag-racing, hare scrambles, enduro and even AMA road-racing. Jocelin not only rides but she enjoys wrenching too, having worked as chief mechanic, assisting the team in a national championship. She continuously works with manufacturers to research, design and develop safe motorcycle riding gear. She is a Backcountry Discovery Routes ambassador, develops routes and educates riders. Follow her on Instagram: @jocelinsnow