Can I ask my readers for some advice?
What is the best web based weather forecast I should use for my USA tour?
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H-D Motorcycle Tours in Europe
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About Me
- Gary France
- Having devoted most of my adult life to being a ‘company man’, the transition to the next phase of my life away from the construction industry was always going to include some challenges. Planning and then making my dream trip to explore America on my Harley-Davidson proved to be the ideal vehicle for clearing my mind of old ways of thinking and being. I rode 21,475 miles, in 27 US states in four-and-a-half months. My motorcycling trips have continued, with journeys across much of Europe, New Zealand, North Africa and Cuba. A few years ago, I set up and now run Tour1, which takes riders on Harley-Davidson Authorised tours across Europe. See www.tour1.co.uk. I live just north of London in the UK.
My Website
Social Media
My YouTube Channel
My H-D Road King, 'The Leading Ladies'
A 2006 Road King called 'The Leading Ladies' due to the portraits of ten 1940's and 1950's actresses painted on the bike. This is the motorcycle I use to ride through America on.
My Custom Harley 'Tradewinds'
Called 'Tradewinds' this bike has a H-D engine but almost everything else is custom, made specifically for the bike.
My Custom Harley 'Amelia'
Built in 2012, this is a seventies style traditional chopper, with considerable engraving and a tremendous paint scheme
Blogs I read
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Hello world!9 months ago
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The Distinguished Gentlemen’s Ride 20195 years ago
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How to stay positive...6 years ago
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Ride Your Own Ride8 years ago
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2015 Harley-Davidson Models, Lean Angles9 years ago
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Bloody Hell Bob!10 years ago
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Hoo-Rag The Better Bandana10 years ago
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BrrrrrMobile11 years ago
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New Website11 years ago
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Z1 Rat's channel12 years ago
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Back to school12 years ago
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Hits Counter since 1st Jan 2010
USA Tour - States I rode in on the tour
2012 Route to Cascias in Portugal
Cuba Tour 2012
2011 Tour Through Spain with Paul
2011 Route to Croatia with Ian
2011 Route to St Tropez with Jackie
2010 USA Tour Route
30 comments:
Gary:
your wish is my command
http://www.100topweathersites.com/
bob
Wet Coast Scootin
ps: you're making us all more jealous as your time gets nearer. When your Pink crocs hit the solid soil of North America, we will feel the vibrations
www.weather.com is what I typically use. Think they even have app's available if you have one of those fancy cell phones to.
For Freebies you can use the old standby of www.weather.com
If you're into real time radar stuff then you could use www.weathertap.com but you'll have to pay for its use. Not too expensive though.
well, in the norcal area its best to rely on radar gary. i use weather.com on the blackberry with no prob. the general news/weather reports are typically wrong here, mostly because of the coastal microclimates. as the inland and valley warms the winds shift with fog trying to cool temps down. we call it the natural a/c.
btw, ive used weather.com while riding and hitting cloudbursts in IA, NE, WY, UT, NV as well. hope this helps. you must be getting excited... ROADTRIP!!! :)
I've always used weather.com or wunderground.com.
www.accuweather.com
oooh, cool list, thats a great amount of cities listed for your trip!! maybe we'll cross paths at sturgis and calif :)
Once I leave I never check the weather. If it rains I put on the Froggs Toggs. Cold, the leather jacket. Hot, well I can't take anything off because of the laws and common sense. The weather guessers on this side aren't very good, but if I motel I do listen to the lies.
Just noticed you're going to be coming through Ohio the last week of July. If you make it to western Ohio (Napoleon, Antwerp) by the weekend of the 23rd - 25th there's a big rally just south of your route near Van Wert. Here's the link:
http://www.wetzelmc.com/main.asp?Ct=1
I like accuweather.com but I mostly use NOAA (National Oceanic Atmospheric Administration) which is http://www.nws.noaa.gov/
The Weather Channel has a nice app you can download to a smart phone if you have one. And on accuweather's Website you can sign up for weather alerts that are delivered to your smart phone. These would come in handy for thunderstorms.
Nice to see your list of cities!
Uhhhh...dude! I'm a better weather man than those guys on the tele. I just go outside and look around. I have to word for word agree with AZHD
I don't care what time of year it is...you are gonna get soaked somewhere. The cool thing is that it's gonna be so damned hot that you will dry out as fast as you got wet. I'll place odds that you get pelted by hail a few times while you are out there.
Honestly...I don't check the weather because it takes all the adventure out of the ride. Just be ready for anything and take it as it comes.
Three rules: 1) Under no circumstances should you ever get sunburned. Do everything to keep that from happening. 2) Garbage bags are your best friend. 3) Drink a shit load of water...dehydration is like a ninja. It will sneak up on you and by the time you realize it's there, well, it's way too late. I drink at least a pint, or more, every 80 miles. Get a water bag of some sort.
Oh yeah, rule 4) Don't worry about a damned thing and role with the flow. It's why you want to do this anyway isn't it?
Looks like you got some good advice. One site I like is http://radar.weather.gov/ This gives you a map and you can choose to view the doppler radar. You can also get a forecast.
I have found the following site useful. It will give you average temperatures and average precip. http://countrystudies.us/united-states/weather/
I look at the weather-woman in the sky and travel prepared. Mother Nature at her finest.
We should do a meet-up in Monterey.
Look to the sky! If that fails...listen to your body. I have a bone tumor in my upper arm...benign...and it warns me when ever the barometric pressure is up, when it's going to be a cold rain, and when it is going to snow. It works better than the weather people.
I learn every time I open this blog... this time: some interesting websites and the insights by AZHD and FLHX Dave. Thank you.
Hello Gary,
I like www.AccuWeather.com. (it's free)
You can post it on your website for any country or any town for that matter. Current and future weather, Dopplar radar, etc. See the one on our blog?
- Mary Ann
Go where all the other weather forecasters get their data from: http://www.weather.gov/
Weather? Like others have said the weather's gonna be what the weather's gonna be. And our forecasters over here are notoriously bad at their jobs. So just be prepared and enjoy it, whatever it is.
Gary, I just got an iPhone, and love the Weather Channel app. It's free, and it will give you the latest weather info (forecasts, radar, etc.) wherever you are, without you having to do anything... the app is aware of the phone's location. So is the version of Google Maps that comes with it...
__Orin
Scootin' Old Skool
Hello Gary...I see you are going to stop in Cassville,WI. Just a suggestion...take the ferry to Guttenburg. It's a cool little trip across the river. Cost about 8 bucks. Also, stop in Potosi, WI at the Potosi Brewery. Very good food and lots of bikers.
As for the weather...it's best to just look at the sky, especially in the Midwest. I use weather.com if I really want to look at the radar.
Have a great trip! If you are going to ride through Des Moines, IA let me know. Would love to meet you. You are doing an amazing thing and I'd love to talk to you about your journey!
Greetings from Thailand!
Wow. Thanks everybody! There are lots of good ideas and tips here.
I can see there are essentially 2 camps on this subject - those who look at weather forecasts and those that fly by the seat of their pants by looking at the sky. I think I have a foot in both camps as I don't want to rely on the weather forecasts day to day and I will ride in all weathers, but I also have very limited experience of riding in the US, so I want to at least get an idea of what might lie ahead.
Bob - thanks for the tip. I hope I have room for those crocs!
Jimmy - No fancy cell phone for me. I use a phone as a phone!
David - Thanks. I have looked at your blog and that is quite a trip you are about to start. I wish you good luck with it.
mq01 - Thanks for the tips. I have experienced the coastal fog in California before. The change in temperature with and without the fog is surprising. It is good to know that weather.com is more reliable than the tv forecasts. Yes - getting very excited now!!!
Richard - I will give both a try. Thanks.
Ben - I will try accuweather .com as well.
mq01 - That is the shortened list, as I found it impossible to include everywhere I will / might be going. I am looking forward to Sturgis - I have wanted to go for a long time, so that was onme of my "Must Do's" on the tour.
AHD - That sounds like the perfect philosophy about riding!
Jimmy - That Wetzelland Rally looks good aand the timing is just about right. I am going to try to be there. Thanks for the suggestion.
Mike - Thanks for the suggestions. Sadly I only have a dumb phone, but I will try accuweather and the NOAA websites.
Dave - I like what you have said and I am tempted to do what you suggest about not checking the weather. I don't want to take away the adventure, but all of my life has been spent planning how to do things well (that was my job), so I always struggle if I don't look ahead. This might just be my chance to break that mold though.... I am tempted....
As for your 4 rules, I totally agree with 1. Number 2 made me laugh. I am in Thailand at the moment and it is steaming hot. Would you believe it, the Nija got me - I suffered from dehydration yesterday / last night / this morning. I don't want to be doing that again! I am liking number 4.... I am liking it a lot!
Thomas - I will look at both. Thanks for suggesting them.
Willy D - I think I am going to try that and see how I get on. I hope she will be nice to me. Yes to Monterey. I will contact you as I get nearer.
Biker Baby - I am coming round to that way of thinking. Look at the sky and just go with the flow is appealing. Sorry to hear about your arm, but I am glad to hear it is benign. Having your own in-built weather forecast system must have its benefits!
Axel - I agree. I am learning much from my readers!
Mary Ann - I see what you mean about the one on your blog. I like the radar part. Very clever!
MP / Steve. Thanks. That looks like the Daddy!
Canajun - I think that is the way forward. Just enjoy it, whatever it is!
Orin - That sounds very helpful. I have however been trying not to buy an iPhone. I have too many gadgets already, or that is what Mrs F tells me. Hang on, can a guy have too many gadgets?
Stefanie - Thanks for the suggestion. I have just added the ferry to my list of things to do. Des Moines isn't on my route at present, but if I do head that way, I will let you know.
Speaking of gadgets, be careful with the radar detector...they are against the law in some states.
I see you will be in Utah the first week of Oct. We will be visiting Arch's Nat'l Park in Utah the first week of Oct on our way to CA. Probably the 3rd or 4th. We will be coming home via old Rt 66.
gary, i just hit road constr and loose gravel @ chinese camp and theres not a ton to see or do, although it is full of gold rush history. you may want to hit mono lake or columbia/sonora/jamestown while on that stretch of CA roadway.
mq01 – Thanks for your tips, I really appreciate them. I will give Chinese Camp a miss. I was going to see Mono Lake just before going into Yosemite and I will make sure I go via Sonora and Jamestown now.
BB - I dont have a radar detector ande I think the one being referred to was a weather radar. My wife and I might be there at around that time as well, but my dates are very approximate.
Hi Gary, I use accuweather.com and weatherstreet.com
You can view exactly where the rain is using the Doppler on accuweather (weatherstreet has it too.) Also they are very good for going hour by hour on where the rain is going to hit. Up north I found that when it rains it's usually an all day event...hope you get there right during a good dry spell!!
Gary, I use wunderground.org and weather.com.
Eve - Thanks for your suggestions. I have taken a look at both. I don't like the idea of all day rain - it sounds too much like the UK!
Chris - Thanks. I took a look at wunderfround and I like thier Road Trip Planner where you can see the likely weather along the route you will be taking. Thats very clever.
Chris - or even wunderground!
Gary, you're welcome. I like wunderground because it shows aggregate private weather station data. You could get a $100 kit and contribute weather data to their site. Works well to track storms, etc.
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