Riding months in Christchurch?

[Oakie]

I ride every day and ease thru the winter months with my heated hand grips.

[NZPETE]

Best Riding months in Christchurch - or anywhere in New Zealand for that matter. January, February, March, April, May, June, July, August, September, October, November, December. TOUGHEN UP !!!!!!
Pete

[shrub]

I don't recall there being a bad month. A few bad days here and there - a few days in summer it's too hot, it snows one or two days and sleet is no fun which happens a a few times. Overall I reckon there are probably 20 or 30 days a year when riding is too hard, but otherwise it's all good down here.

Winter you need to pick your roads though, as grit is a guaranteed sphincter tightener

[FJRider]

About June, Lyttelton harbour freeze's over solid ... traffic gets a bit tricky then. But the twice daily passes of the snowplough on the MAIN streets keep things moving. Highway one gets three times daily ... on good days ...

but down in Central Otago ... it doesn't get below zero degrees ... often ...

[SMOKEU]

It gets a bit cold down here riding in the mornings or after 1700 in winter generally speaking.

[Cynic]

I have piked out on riding to work a couple of times in the last couple of years. Only once was it a necessary call and the others were being over cautious. The one time it was necessary however was as previously described, cold rain in the evening then cleared and sheet ice formed on roughly everything. Even the 4x4 was frankly untidy on the way to work that day. Best thing to do is watch your daily route to work through Autumn, the bits where the road stays wet longer than the rest after light rain are going to be a bastard in a frost so figure out an alternate route to work or be extremely careful on those bits when it starts getting properly cold...

[cruza]

I'm heading of to Christchurch this year and am taking the bike with me. I don't have the greatest storage for the bike so I plan on bringing it back to Napier for the months that I am unable to ride.

So what I would like to know is, what months are generally unrideable in CHCH and the SI? I also need to sort out when my rego expires so I can have it put on hold at the start of not riding it.

EDIT: At this stage I'm thinking just winter?

wouldn't it cost more to get back to napier ?

lovely sunny afternoon, nothing much on..........oh yeah f....ing bikes in napier.
come down ride heaps , i'm sure some garage space will turn up, some good bods down here

[Berries]

Would you recommend heated hand grips and a large dose of HTFU?

Not sure about the hand grips.

Even further down south there are no unrideable months. There's just a few days in winter where you might have to change your plans, but hey, work sucks anyway.

[grusomhat]

wouldn't it cost more to get back to napier ?

lovely sunny afternoon, nothing much on..........oh yeah f....ing bikes in napier.
come down ride heaps , i'm sure some garage space will turn up, some good bods down here

Um shit I didn't really think that through did I. You are in fact correct. Anyway I've decided to keep the bike in CHCH and just ride it year round. I actually do have a garage in their that I can store it in if need be.

Thanks everyone

[HenryDorsetCase]

Maybe you better tell us exactly what you feel will prevent you from riding? What exactly are you expecting? Huge snow drifts or something

I, and I'm sure most others, ride all year. There are some places it pays to be aware of, as the higher hills nearby are often gritted for ice (whether there is ice or not), but nowhere you can't ride.

not this skinny white boy. July August and most of September are usually "off" for me. I'm too old to freeze my nuts off, or worry about ice and grit and shit, or to willingly ride in the rain. been there, done that, own a slightly damp and smelly t shirt with the logo on it. Riding for me is a sunny day, pure pleasure thing, like masturbation.

[ukusa]

apparently January's good riding weather, if you like getting fucking soaked!
Advice must have been based on last year.