What does the end of Daylight Savings Time mean to motorcyclists?

October 28, 1:14 PMMotorcycle Travel ExaminerPatty Davis

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If the sun is shining it is a good time to ride. Remember to set your clock BACK 1 hour on 11/1/09

Photo Credit: Patty Davis

On Sunday, November 1, 2009 at 2:00 a.m., Daylight Savings Time will end for the United States (with the exception of Arizona and Hawaii where Daylight Savings Time is not observed). What does the end of Daylight Savings Time mean for motorcyclists?

If you like jumping on your motorcycle and going for a ride after dinner, plan on taking that ride before dinner or riding in the dark. With the start “winter” time on Sunday, the sun will set an hour earlier than it did on Saturday. If the sun set at 6:30 p.m. on Saturday, the sunset time for Sunday will be 5:30 p.m.; very little time to get in a good ride before dark.

On the other hand, if you ride your motorcycle to work then you will enjoy a morning ride that may be lighter than what you experienced in the past few weeks. A Saturday sunrise of 8:00 a.m. would translate to a Sunday sunrise of 7:00 a.m.

Along with “winter” hours comes the shortest day in the Northern Hemisphere: December 21st. Around the 40°N latitude, available daylight hours goes from a high of over 15 hours on June 21st to the low of just a little over 9 hours on December 21st. It is easy to see why people are affected by S.A.D. (Seasonal Affected Disorder) or as motorcyclists might refer to it: P.M.S. (Parked Motorcycle Syndrome).

So until the second Sunday in March (Sunday, March 14, 2010) when Daylight Savings Time re-appears, keep hoping for those warmer evening rides or move somewhere south. And don’t forget to change your clocks back one hour this Sunday (Fall Back in the Fall – Spring Forward in the Spring).