After reading all of the tales of frigid temperatures and frozen pipes, I was glad to be here. 0°F in Corvallis while it's +27°F in Barrow! What's that all about? I would expect it to be cold in Minneapolis but not in Oregon. The ride in today really felt warm and I ended up leaving the visor partially open to try and cool off.
We had freezing rain for the last couple of days and this morning, I needed to clear off the couple inches of snow off of the driveway before I could get the bike up to the road. Traffic was moving well under the speed limit but I opted to not turn into the back road into the university as the right turn lane was still deep with snow. I was thinking that if the sidecar wheel went into deeper snow the rig may pull sharply to the right. I didn't want to try that with traffic right on my tail during our morning "rush hour". Since more snow is forecast for later today, I covered the handlebars and engine to minimize ice on the cables and carbs.
We once again have fog due to the unseasonably warm weather. This photo was taken at about 9:45am while walking back to my office. It's really nice out today. Sunrise today isn't for another hour as we steadily march towards the shortest day. Less than two weeks before sunrise starts to get earlier in the day.
Richard, you are correct in your belief that the sidecar wheel going into deeper snow than the tug will cause the sidecar to get sucked into the deeper snow....snow banks are the worst!
ReplyDeleteUnless of course, you have 2WD..... :)
To avoid that, I could have slowed down. Usually, I don't slow down until I'm in the right turn lane.
DeleteGoing to keep rubbing in the lack of 2WD...
Richard you are one very hearty soul for riding up in Alaska, it makes me feel like a wimp with the weather we have in Victoria. Stay warm my friend.
ReplyDeleteThe third wheel makes a world of difference. And heated gear makes it more comfortable than driving. Instant heat.
DeleteRichard:
ReplyDeletesomehow I just can't believe that it got that cold in Corvallis, either. I get confused as Zero °c here is really 32°F but that's not really 0°F, which is much, much, much colder.
Imagine that we are also colder than Toronto. They must be laughing at us but we will get even soon
are you saying that you don't have 2WD ? I thought you were looking at Urals ?
bob
Riding the Wet Coast
I'd love to have 2WD but for now just 1WD. Without being able to run studded tires I'd never even make it out of our driveway.
DeleteUrals have 2WD and Reverse but they are just too expensive.
Yes, I've noticed our upside down weather! You at 30 degrees and we are aiming for a minus 15 chill. I can't stand to think about it being minus anything for too long here. A few days here and there is normal...but we get what we get.
ReplyDeleteLove the last photo. Looks like here, too!
I suspect that things will turn right side up in a couple of days. But that just means that the gulf coast will stop being below freezing. I think you may be the only ones with "normal" temperatures.
DeleteThank you. Just in iPhone photo...
I, too, like the last photo.
ReplyDeleteYes, I'm sure having a third wheel make all the the difference...studded tires help, too.
The studded tires partly compensate for not having 2WD. On my way home this afternoon, I spun the pusher and fish-tailed my way up the hill. Studs don't help much on loose snow. If you can work your way down to ice or hard packed snow then they help.
DeleteI'm starting to be convinced that I may want to start saving my pennies for a Ural.
chains on the pusher perhaps?
ReplyDeleteChains would definitely help. Based on the ones you have, I'm thinking of taking apart some old chains, shorten the links and put them together using a similar design.
DeleteThat foggy shot is really neat. Nice capture.
ReplyDeleteGood idea covering some bike parts. Still funny to think your weather is warmer. We woke to 22 this morning so it isn't nearly as cold as yesterday. We managed to get the water pipes thawed so all is well. I think we are even supposed to get above freezing today.
Enjoy your balmy weather while you can.
Thank you! I liked that is almost, sort of came out how it looked.
DeleteI think the weather is getting back to normal, it was 16°F this morning on the ride in and is supposed to be negative before the day is out. Glad to hear that the pipes thawed out. I don't know whether or not your furnace still comes on much but when I had a wood stove and it was really cold, the cabinet doors below the sinks would have to be opened to ensure that some warm air still hit those areas. If it was Really cold, I turned on the furnace blower to circulate the warm air to the bedrooms.