Wednesday, December 27, 2017

First Ride of the Winter

I took advantage of a quiet day to take the Ural out for a spin. It was -5°F (-21°C) but I didn't want to bother digging out the Bombardier winter helmet. I regretted this about 10 minutes later as frost started to form between the Pinlock shield and the visor. It seems like at these cooler temperatures, the plastic used by Pinlock shrinks more than the plastic visor and the seal is lost. When I stopped to take the picture, I removed the Pinlock shield before continuing on. With it removed, I could periodically scrape off the frost from the inside of the visor. The visor of the Bombardier helmet is made double layer so moisture can't get between the layers to frost up. Next time.

I could tell that I didn't have as many studs in the rear tire as it would occasionally break loose, i.e. lose traction, when downshifting. Not really an issue as long as you are aware of it. I still haven't put on the handlebar muffs but between the heated grips and gloves, my hands were plenty warm. I was not intending to ride at these temperatures anymore but since the rig was out, then why not go for a little spin.

My son gifted me with an interesting kitchen gadget. An air fryer. It uses hot air instead of hot oil to cook food kind of like the hot air popcorn poppers. It works pretty well with results similar to deep frying. This morning, the hash brown potatoes were crispy on the edges and the only oil used was a light spray of olive oil. This afternoon, I had to try making fried chicken. I was impressed with the results. Just like regular fried chicken without the oil or the messy cleanup.

5 comments:

  1. We've an air fryer as well, works pretty good.

    The hard grip muffs were on for what is balmy temperatures for you, 14F, today temps soared to 42F! I was overdressed!

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    1. Definitely on the cold side at -5°F though today, it’s -8°. Still trying to decide if I want to ride into town...

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  2. -21°C is not too shabby for your neck of the woods. Imagine temps in southwest Germany: +17°C (62F). Wishing you and your family a Happy New Year, Richard!

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  3. Wow, I am impressed...I believe 5 below would be too cold for me to ride! :)

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  4. The air-fryer is a real game changer; I never knew that I could prepare such a tasty, and healthy french fries. If someone is wondering what kind of an air-fryer they should buy, I suggest you to have a look at this page: https://merchdope.com/air-fryers/

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