Motorcyclists are ready to gear up and hit the road now that warmer temperatures have arrived, but some warn that the conditions aren’t ideal due to salt and debris left behind from winter.
“The salt on the road will cause the tires to slip, and then you’re going to lose traction, and potentially lose control, and then the bike is going down so it’s not a fun experience,” said motorcyclist Dave Mathes.
His basic rule of thumb is to ride when temperatures are around 9 degrees Celsius or warmer, but admitted he hasn’t gone for any long rides yet, just to be safe.
“Lots of sand and salt in some corners, and some middle of the roads, so you need to pick and choose your line for sure,” Mathes said.
The City of Waterloo said it aims to clean the roads in the next week or so but that will be weather dependent as the street sweepers are not used to temperatures that are near or below zero.
In Kitchener, staff are working to get the roads in the most ideal condition but admitted that it could still be a few weeks away.
“It takes us until about the end of May to get through our backlog on sweeping so ideally a motorist of all kind will drive to the conditions present,” said Scott Berry, Kitchener’s manager of maintenance.
The Region of Waterloo said staff are monitoring weather forecasts to determine their next steps.
“To determine the best time to start to switch over from predominantly winter maintenance activities, such as plowing snow and de-icing, to predominantly summer maintenance activities such as pothole repairs, drainage repairs and street sweeping,” said Steve van De Keere, the director of transportation for the region, in an e-mailed statement. “Through April, as the weather starts to warm up, operations groups start to allocate more resources to these summer activities while keeping a watchful eye on the potential for a snowstorm or a freezing rain event.”
City staff for both Cambridge and Guelph said they are in the process of sweeping the roads to make it safer for everyone.
At Tri-City Cycle & Sport in Waterloo, staff told CTV News that they hope weather conditions remain warm as it’s good for business. They also said they’ve been busier than ever in the last year with sales doubling.
“It took off and it hasn’t stopped,” said Randy Kuchma, the president of Tri-City Cycle & Sport.
I have added that the demand for bikes and ATVs is so high they can hardly keep up. Kuchma said there is a supply shortage especially when it comes to things like motorcycle gear and motorcycles.
“The manufacturers overseas, I guess when they get COVID, they shut the plant down and it slows down production,” Kuchma said.