It has gotten to the point in the year when there isn't even a hint of sunrise in the eastern horizon during my commute in. The official sunrise isn't until 8:41am (sunset is at 6:31pm) and until today I was at least able to tell which direction was east. I now can really appreciate the lighting on the Ural versus the BMW. So much more light on the road even though they both use the same H4 bulb. Just a newer headlight lens design. The LED fog lights put a nice pool of light on the road just in front and sides of the bike but don't add any distance. I still haven't moved the LED driving light over from the Cozy as I still haven't figured out the "best" place to mount it on the sidecar.
I had mentioned in my last post that the Gerbings gear was sent in for repair but it isn't really cold enough for it to be missed...yet. I did manage to get the Arctic Cat brand handlebar mitts that I've used on the Beemer the last two winters to fit. The challenge was that there was no allowance for the mirror stalk and the throttle cable on the Ural sticks out perpendicular to the bar. Plus I didn't want any pressure on the clutch or brake levers. It was a really tight fit compared to the Beemer but I think that it'll work. With the heated grips and these mitts, my regular riding gloves are more than adequate for our current temperatures.
Today, October 14th, 2014, is
Ada Lovelace Day.Or more formally known as Augusta Ada Byron, Countess of Lovelace and has been just recently heralded as the inventor of computer programming, mathematician and the founder of scientific computing. She lived between 1815 and 1852 which was well before the development of what we know as computers. But the concept of using a calculating machine as a general purpose computing device was unheard of at the time let alone the idea of computer generated music. Today is all about the celebration of women's achievements in science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM).
So how do your co-workers feel about the URAL vice the Beemer rig?
ReplyDeleteSome wondered if I had painted the Beemer but some recognized it for what it is. They are looking forward to see how it does once winter arrives.
DeleteThank you for mentioning Ada Lovelace.
ReplyDeleteIt was dark here at 7:30, but only because the clouds were so heavy and low. By noon I was running pretty low on perkiness....
My introduction to Ada Lovelace is rather recent as she is mentioned in Walter Isaacson's new book The Innovators.
DeleteClear and sunny here, such as it is. Someone pointed out this morning that the sun shining on his thermometer outside his house had no effect on the temperature. It's getting to be that time of year...
I felt a twinge of painful memory when I read your comment about the thermometer.
DeleteDon't forget Stephanie Kwolek!
According to the Internet, she should be on every motorcyclists list of favorite people. The inventor of Kevlar! (Among many other things!) Thank you for educating me.
DeleteI am surprised that while your sunrise is so much later than ours, sunset is pretty much the same time within 10-15 minutes.
ReplyDeleteSo - how many months before it is light out during your morning commute again? 6?
In October, 1983, the state decided to monkey with the time zones. Before that time, the state was divided into four time zones between south east Alaska and the Aleutian Islands. Now there is essentially one time zone and the legislatures in their "infinite wisdom" selected the one furthest east which just happens to be the one that the capital Juneau is in. So sunrise and sunset is skewed for the rest of the state. If you get far enough west like Nome, sunrise is actually after noon.
DeleteRichard, in our neck of the woods Konrad Zuse is of course more popular when it comes to the invention of computers but I love the tidbit on Ada Lovelace, and the fact that it is a woman. Thanks for this.
ReplyDeleteI've heard of the more modern folks before (if the 1940s are modern) but hadn't heard much of Ada before. Though I do remember the Ada computer language.
DeleteHooray for Ada Lovelace! She was touched on - very briefly - in my Comp. Sci. 101 class.
ReplyDeleteI'm glad to hear you've got warm mitts on the Ural now, too. Cold hands are the worst, and it seems like they're the hardest to keep warm too.
I had tried the Arctic Cat mitts before but couldn't get it to fit around the mirror stalk. It's on now but I think that I'm going to remove the mirror stalks, punch a hole in the mitt and push the stalk through the hole. It may fit a little better.
DeleteNow, I don't even need the heated gloves.