Fresh Snow

The forecast was for a couple inches of snow but I think that we may be getting a bit more than that. It is heavy enough for visibility to be down to about ¼ mile or so. No beautiful sunrise today though we are already up to almost eight hours of sunlight which translates to about ten hours of daylight. No more riding home in the dark.

I usually cover the bike with the tarp when it's snowing or freezing rain just to keep the carb cables from freezing. Last winter, there were a couple of times when the enricheners wouldn't move due to ice and this seems to be an easy solution. On Monday, there were numerous times when you can feel the rear tire losing traction. I had thought that maybe the air pressure was on the low side but it was fine. I guess we really could use some fresh snow as the ice remaining on the road was on the slick side.

I ended up running across town this morning running errands. It's amazing how nice it is to ride on fresh snow.

LED Light Road Test

The weather the last week or so has been absolutely beautiful, almost reminiscent of Spring. This was reinforced by looking at the snow that has melted back from the edges of the picnic tables. The silver building is the International Arctic Research Center and is just one of the research facilities here at the University of Alaska Fairbanks.

Last night, the local Airhead group met at the Silver Gulch. The last time we met was when my alternator rotor failed. I also noticed that my distance lighting was pretty poor. I rarely ride on back roads in the dark but going out to Fox for the Airhead get togethers is one of those times. I have resolved both problems now with the installation of the Enduralast 450W alternator and a single Denali D1 LED light. The ride out was on the cool side with temperatures in the -5°F range so I even had the heated grips on for part of the ride, the gloves on full and the heated jacket liner on about half.  Even with all of that on, the battery voltage never dropped except at idle. The aftermarket alternator was a great upgrade with an 80% increase in total output. The grips were shut off after a short while as they just get too hot.

I'm really impressed with the Denali LED light. Even with only one light installed on the right side of the sidecar, the road was completely lit up well past the normal high beam and probably four times the distance of just the low beam. Not bad at all for the small 10W light. Much more light than I expected for 900 lumens which, I believe, is about the same as the regular high beam. Having good lighting on the back roads is important to try and see moose on the road. One of these days, I may spring for a second light but the performance of the single light is an impressive and probably sufficient.

I discovered that there was next to nothing I could feel good about ordering at the Silver Gulch. Maybe that should be expected when going to a micro-brewery. Some good news, my Roadcrafter Light just shipped!

Super Bowl Ride

Sunday afternoon turned out to be wonderful. I rode out to friends shop to visit, look at his nice vintage Nortons and watch at least part of the Super Bowl. The roads out there had a lot more ice on them than the more heavily travelled roads that I usually ride on. The snow and ice covered road and driveway up to his home was pretty easy to go up but I kept the speed down to ~10mph going back down the hill. I'm glad that I replaced the screw-studs in the pusher last night. 

The two tracking solar panels are a good demonstration that even as far north as Fairbanks, the economics works for solar power especially if you have a great location as this.

I left after the first half of the game as I wanted to head down his hill while there was still light. As it was, it was already after sunset but there was still enough light to see the slick spots. Not a really long ride but still nice to be out on the road. Tomorrow is the monthly Airhead meeting at the Silver Gulch. The last time we met was when the rotor bit the dust. I can't believe how quick January went by.

Back in Fairbanks

A sure sign of Spring in Fairbanks are the ice carvings beginning to show up. This one has actually been here for a while and in front of a dentists office on a very busy corner in town. It is showing its age and melting from the warm weather. This dentist always has an angel ice carving for quite a number of years.

This evening, we tried out a newly remodeled restaurant in town. This is tofu cooked on a cedar plank (like they do fish on a grill) with an Asian ginger glaze. Very delicious though I could only finish half of it before feeling full. Only a short time ago, this wouldn't have sounded too appetizing.

After much thought, I've decided to dramatically alter my diet. I watched quite a few video documentaries some several times and read a lot of articles on nutrition and diet especially those with a focus on those with type 2 diabetes, and I came up with the following "dietary rules". No dairy, minimal animal protien, minimal fat, low carbs, minimal fruit and the rest non-starchy vegetables. I figure that at least 80% plant based. For now, I will continue with the green drink fasting at least every other day. And continue with my B12, C and D supplements. I'll see how this goes for a while. Since the beginning of 2014 I've managed to drop 15 lbs. it seems like a good start.

On another note, during my last trip home from the Silver Gulch well after sunset (the trip when I had the burned out alternator rotor), I discovered how poor my distance lighting really was. The LED fog lights do a great job illuminating the sides of the road but don't provide any distance illumination. I've had a number of friends swear by the Denali LED driving lights from Twisted Throttle. Revzilla sold them individually instead of a set and I still had some of the "Zilla Cash" left that was going to expire soon so I ordered one Denali D1 LED driving light.

I installed it on the side of the sidecar where I had originally installed an LED parking light. I also wired the fog lights and the new driving light to switch with the high-low beam toggle. The single driving light draws 1 amp the same as the two fog lights so total amperage hasn't changed. There is another Airhead get together next Monday evening. That'll be a good chance to try it out. Standing in front of the bike, the small LED driving light seems really bright compared to the headlight.