Hopefully this should take care of the difficulty getting vehicles out of our driveway. The studs on the rear tire are getting pretty worn again from all of the snow-free pavement. Most of the main roads are in pretty nice shape. Normally it would take weeks for all the ice and packed snow on our driveway to melt and turn to slush. The ice in front of the garage takes even longer to melt since it shaded by the house. This is the first time I've ever had someone come in to remove the hard pack.
I think that Spring really is here this time. Temperatures are venturing above freezing this week and most of the snow has disappeared fro the roads. This is the view from the 5th floor conference room of the International Arctic Research Center looking south. The building with my office is the one on the left of the frame past the parking lot.
I've been able to ride everyday since I've been back from my last trip and this morning, it was an almost tropical 16°F. I didn't even need to turn on the heated gear...
Posted with Blogsy
Lovely day and big blue skies! I'm so glad it's almost tropical! :)
ReplyDeleteIt almost feels tropical. I took off the grip hand covers (kind of like Hippo Hands) last night since the temperatures are getting "almost tropical". And there is a lot of water showing up on the streets and walkways these days.
DeleteGetting rid of that hard pack will help things melt so much quicker.
ReplyDeleteI don't know about 16˚ being tropical but I bet when they get above freezing it'll seem darn near Bahama weather and you'll be ready for shorts.
There are already a number of students running around campus with shorts and flip flops when it's sunny. But after a long winter, these days do seem very "Key West".
DeleteThis morning, I could already see pavement on our diriveway!
Richard:
ReplyDeleteThank you for putting things into perspective. I'm not sure I could endure a 10 month winter
. . . at least, you're riding
bob
Riding the Wet Coast
You just need to change your definitions. Most around here would not call this Winter weather. With all of the melting, it is well into Spring. Winter is only a couple of months long...
DeleteIn prior years, riding season was almost 7 months long on two wheels. That suggests that Winter was 5 months long.
It is all relevant isn't it?
DeleteYeah, it shows that one can get used to almost anything. And will blindly defend stupid ideas like "so what if it's below freezing, it still resembles Spring".
DeleteYou gave me a good chuckle with the "didn't even need to turn on the heated gear" at 16F.
ReplyDeleteI hope the removal of the hardpack is cost effective. Jackhammer and ice box ice blocks out of the question? hehe
So far so good. The pavement was actually visible on our driveway. I probably don't even need the studs in the tires to get onto the road anymore. Though the ice on our subdivision road is pretty treacherous still.
DeleteIn switched back from the Gerbing to the FirstGear liner since its more comfortable and I don't need the supplemental heat anymore for my commute.
Dang Richard, is there going to be snow left by the time I get there sometime late next week? :)
ReplyDeletedom
I suspect that there will still be plenty of snow next week. Especially when you head north again. There will probably be quite a bit when you cross the mountains in Canada.
Delete