The snow hasn't quite disappeared everywhere as yesterday afternoon didn't get as warm as the weather folks were predicting It was 25°F on the ride in this morning with dry roads and what may eventually be a beautiful sunrise in the rearview mirrors. Yes, it's starting to be dark during my morning commute and I am satisfied with the additional LED lighting that I added. I'll try to take a picture showing the light on the road.
The additional weight in the sidecar from the car battery makes right turns a breeze and there should be no more problems starting the engine once it gets cold. And it sure is nice to to have to worry about turning off accessories when slowing down. I may have to try and figure out a more permanent location for the car battery as it's nice to have the additional amp-hours (estimated at 2½ times the Odyssey PC925). Plus, it's a whole lot cheaper than replacing the charging system with one of the aftermarket Enduralast 450 watt systems.
These are just a couple of photos from walking around West Ridge, the area of campus housing most of the research institutes. The first and last were taken this morning and the middle two were taken during an afternoon walk. I think it kind of odd that some of the leaves are still green while other trees have dropped most of their leaves. The pictures were taken maybe 100 m apart. I have been trying to get out and start walking again. I can't complain about the miserably warm weather anymore though I do need to find my hat and gloves again. In spite of the cooler temperatures, this is a wonderful time of the year to be in Fairbanks.
.jpg)
Richard, and here I am complaining about temperatures around 45F while your mornings are already at freezing temps.
ReplyDeleteThose crisp colours in your pictures are amazing. I love the contrast of the leaves against the blue skies.
The mountain pano shot however is priceless.
I love the colors and contrasts that Fall brings. Once the trees lose their leaves and we get a reasonable base of snow, everything looks grey and dingy. This is nice.
DeleteThis morning, it was a warm 41°F and raining.
The last photo took my breath away. So beautiful and so much snow! I love how flat the image is; it reminds me of an old postcard.
ReplyDeleteI don't know what elevation the snow is down to but last Saturday during the Equinox marathon, several folks mentioned that the trail was frozen and when (not if) you fell, it was like hitting concrete.
DeleteI enjoy looking out at the mountains though I sometimes wish they were a little closer.
Brr. I won't complain about the chilly weather here either - it's way colder there.
ReplyDeleteI'd be curious to hear more about the battery system you've got going.
Love the colors in the 2nd photo!
Complain all you want since it'll eventually feel much colder there than here. We get very little wind and the humidity is pretty low. I think that MN feels a lot colder during the winter.
DeleteIt is just a group 24 car battery that I mounted in a plastic battery box in the sidecar. I cabled it up to replace the existing battery under the seat. The original battery is removed from the circuit so they are not running in parallel.
4 AWG cables running between the sidecar and the bike.
And your charging system keeps the battery fully charged? That's pretty sweet.
DeletePretty much. The existing charging system seems more than able to bring the car battery back to full charge but now I don't really need to worry about it not being able to crank the bike.
DeleteLovely pictures Richard. Won't be long before the trees are bare.
ReplyDeleteWe are just starting to see different colors on the trees, but the storms are bringing the leaves down a bit at a time.
Unfortunately, once the trees lose their leaves, things look very bleak but only until we get more snow on the ground. Then all of the greyness (and junk) get covered up with a clean, white blanket. THings look a lot better.
DeleteYou are having more storms?
Beauty pano shot of the Alaska Range!
ReplyDeleteAs soon as I saw the light on the east facing regions, I thought I needed to try and capture it.
Delete