Thursday, October 27, 2011

Sunrise after our first snow fall

We've had, right on schedule, our first snow fall for the incoming winter of 2011.  It was much-overhyped as usual by the local weather guessers and the National Weather Service.  Winter Warning....be scared, panic!

As it is, it hit in the northern part of the state, caused power outages and some accidents but hardly lived up to the dire warnings issued beforehand.

Heck, I rode Yoshie to work yesterday, all geared up and ready for bad road conditions and traffic.  All I got was basically "fat rain" on the way to work, with snow falling nicely but melting instantly upon hitting the roadway.  The snow was sticking to non-road surfaces and the falling snowflakes glittered quite nicely in one's headlights as I rode along but that's about it.

Riding home yesterday from work, I was struck by how nice the fallen snow had made the trees along the route home.  It was a wet snow and it clung to the leaves and branches quite nicely.  Probably what caused all the power outages further north as power lines went down.

So this morning I set off as dawn broke to try and get some pictures of snow-laden trees.  Didn't really have much luck either due to the light angles or the fact the trees I sought had already shed the snow they'd accumulated!

I went down towards the Blackstone Country Club and posed Yoshie instead at the spot where one can see Mount Evans way in the background:


As you can see the roads are dry and clear, a few ice patches here and there where melting snow had re-frozen overnight.  Temperatures during the ride were in the high teens, so my heated grips were running and my grip covers allowed me to ride with summer gloves on.

We'll lose all the snow in the city by the weekend, so folks around here should be able to get some riding in.

9 comments:

Unknown said...

Charlie6:

our mountains had their first snow yesterday. We hope it stays up there.

bob
Riding the Wet Coast

SonjaM said...

Bob said it already. Snow's coming almost a month too early this year is what the weather guys say.

Bluekat said...

I've barely excepted Richard's cold and snow up in Alaska. I'm not ready for it down here in the lower 48. The trees in the background remind me of (gulp) Christmas. Well, I'd better get over it. Summer is gone.

Have to say though, it's a beautiful scene! And there is something about riding on a crisp, cool morning.

RichardM said...

That scene looks familiar. Mostly clear, dry roads though it's difficult to get out to them due to all of the snow and ice on the subdivision roads. I like the look of freshly fallen snow though ours generally tends to stick around a bit too long. I was just noticing how wide your rig looks. Is it wider than the Ural?

Richard

redlegsrides said...

Bobskoot, hope you get your wish....thanks for the visit.

SonjaM....never too early for snow, if you've a sidecar.... : )

Bluekat....yep, cool crisp air, everything is crystal clear....thanks for the visit.

RichardM, yep, it's wider. The same trailer I used to haul the Ural (barely) is not wide enough for Yoshie. Thanks for the visit. And yes, the shot should be familiar to you, I posed Natasha in same spot last year. : )

Steve Williams said...

Beautiful landscape you get to ride in Dom. And you ride in it!

We're getting the same over-hyped weather forecasting and end of the world reactions here for the first snowfall that is expected to begin shortly. But instead of dry and powdery we are supposed to have wet and heavy.

Heard some interesting news today. A Ural dealership is coming to town. Now we'll have everything worth having in the riding world.

Allen Madding said...

Have I mentioned how breathtaking the landscape you enjoy are? Color me jealous.

Glad you're enjoying the new rig.

-Peace

Chris said...

Enjoy the snow! We were supposed to get some last week, but it didn't happen. 55F and sunny instead. I'm not complaining, more time to ride the two-wheelers.

irondad said...

The lack of sidecar doth make cowards of us all.

I was in Central Oregon yesterday. My original plan was to stay a couple of more days to sort of shake the bushes. On the bike, of course.

Then the weather mavens said to expect snow accumulation tonight above three thousand feet. The pass I have to traverse peaks at 4815 feet.

I decided not to risk it so I came home early. It was interesting going over very early in the morning.

Freezing fog, light snow, 28 degrees. Enough for me these days!