Check the ride home before you leave, even if the morning looks lovely. Give each direction its own departure time, then try a later return in case work or lunch runs over. It's easier to arrange another way home now than after you've ridden there.

Give each journey its own departure time

Here's an example working day:

  • 08:00: leave home for work.
  • 09:00–17:30: the bike is parked.
  • 17:30: leave work for home.

Check the return from work with a 17:30 departure. Swapping the start and finish while keeping 08:00 would give you the morning weather again. A continuous route that sends you home straight after arrival would miss the hours the bike spends parked.

In MotoMeteo, enter the morning route and departure, then plan the ride home with its own roads and start time. Check the dates too, especially if you work overnight.

Worked example: what if work finishes 45 minutes late?

Suppose each ride takes an hour, with a bridge crossing 20 minutes after leaving. The weather below is made up to show how the timing works.

Journey Departure Bridge crossing What to check
To work 08:00 08:20 Dry morning; check temperature and visibility.
Planned return 17:30 17:50 Rain forecast around 18:00: a small delay could put you in it.
Late return 18:15 18:35 Rain during the crossing; check gusts and the rest of the wet route.

Leaving at 17:30 gets you home at 18:30, so you may meet rain after the bridge anyway. There's still 40 minutes of riding to check. And even the bridge crossing could be wet if the rain arrives early or a meeting runs late.

If you can't count on finishing before 18:15, use that return forecast when deciding how to get to work. Pack for rain if you're comfortable with the expected conditions, or arrange another way home. If that means leaving the bike overnight, check parking and transport before you set off.

Look at the parts that could change your plan

Follow both rides along the map and look for anything that could change your plans:

  • Is rain expected on the way there, on the way home or mainly while the bike is parked?
  • Will gusts be stronger when you cross an exposed road on the return?
  • Could low sun be ahead of you in one direction?
  • Will you be riding during the coldest part of the day?
  • Is there a more sheltered road that still fits your day?

Use the answers to choose your start times, roads and clothing. Check official weather warnings and road information for both rides too; a forecast alone can't tell you a route is safe.

Check the whole return route

The forecast for home at 18:00 won't tell you much about a hill you cross at 17:40. Check the roads in between at the times you'll reach them.

Route weather matches points along the ride to your estimated arrival times. Start with the summary, then open the sections where the weather changes. Does the estimated journey time look right? Traffic, fuel stops and a detour can put you there later.

If you import a GPX route, check the direction and line on the map. Use a separate file for the return if you'll take different roads.

Compare departures you can actually use

A weekend ride may leave you free to choose a morning or afternoon start. Getting to work usually gives you less room. Compare times you could actually use.

MotoMeteo PRO can compare departure times for a route. Check each direction separately, then choose a plan that works for both. On a day trip, work back from when you want to leave for home: if you need to leave the café at 14:00 and lunch takes an hour, aim to arrive by 13:00 or shorten the ride there. Recheck the forecast before committing to those times.

After a long lunch or visit, check the next leg with its own departure time. Adding a café as a waypoint tells the planner where to go, but doesn't allow for how long you'll stay.

Save the roads, refresh the forecast

Save routes you ride regularly so you don't have to enter them again. Each time you use one, check the date, departure and direction, then get a fresh forecast.

Before riding home, recheck warnings, current conditions and the route forecast while safely stopped. Change the plan if you've been delayed or the weather has changed.

For a group day out, agree on when you'll head home as well as when you'll meet. Decide who will recheck the weather before lunch and when you'll choose the shorter route. That makes it easier to skip an extra stop if the forecast gets worse.

Our route-weather guide walks through rain, gusts, visibility and temperature checks for each leg.