Guides

Fahrklar guides: what this is about

The Fahrklar guides answer which weather questions actually help for a multi-hour tour, instead of just "what will the weather be like today". Weather isn't a side issue for motorcycling and cycling — it's the factor that decides between a good day and an unpleasant one. Yet it usually gets handled with a single glance at a weather app. The articles in these guides describe which questions help instead, and how the answers can be planned for, including audience-specific guidance for motorcycle, convertible and bicycle.

The first article explains segment-by-segment weather analysis: a route is split into segments, and each segment gets its own forecast, matched to the time you actually arrive there. That shifts the question from "what will the weather be like today" to "what will the weather be like on my route, when I'm there".

The second article shows what follows from that: once the whole route can be evaluated, the start time can be compared too. Instead of checking a fixed time, a time window is worked through and the driest departure is suggested. The third article deals with the break: anyone who has to stop anyway can do it exactly when it rains, and thereby ride an entire segment dry instead of wet.

The remaining articles apply all this to audiences for whom weather counts even more than usual: for motorcyclists wetness directly determines braking distance and lean-angle limit; for convertible drivers it determines whether the top can stay down at all; and for cyclists it determines which layer is needed when: wet clothing chills you, and wind chill including riding wind shows how cold it actually feels on each segment. A dedicated article also shows how to plan EV routes with charging stops : Fahrklar shows the nearest charging stations at the start, destination and every break for that.

Fahrklar terms in one sentence

Segment-by-segment weather analysis

The route is split into segments; each segment gets its own forecast for the expected arrival time.

Start-time optimization

The entire route is evaluated for every possible start time within three hours before and after; the driest one is suggested.

Weather-coupled break planning

The break you'd take anyway shifts into the route segment where rain is expected, including a suggestion for a covered stop.

Motorcycle/convertible vehicle type

Realistic cornering and country-road speeds instead of motorway pace, one combined vehicle type for both.

None of these methods replace a general weather app or a spontaneous decision on the road. They make sure the decisions before departure are based on data instead of a glance out the window.

Fahrklar order: route, analysis, start time, break

In practice, the three Fahrklar methods depend on each other, and the order is not arbitrary. First comes the route, because without a course there's nothing to evaluate. Then comes the segment-by-segment analysis, which shows at which kilometer rain is to be expected at all. Only after that is it worth looking at the start time: if the band of rain can be avoided with an earlier or later departure, the matter is settled. If rain remains, break planning comes into play and places the unavoidable part at a time you wanted to stop anyway.

This order also explains why the segment-by-segment analysis is included in every plan, even the free one. It's the foundation everything else builds on. Rain-break planning and the live rain radar are only added starting with the Starter plan, because they require and build on the analysis. An overview of the limits of each plan is on the pricing page.

Fahrklar guides: who they are for

The Fahrklar guides are aimed at anyone who's ever gotten wet on a tour despite the weather app promising something different that morning — without needing any prior meteorological knowledge. The guides explain why that happens and what you can do about it through planning, for motorcycle, bicycle and e-bike alike.