Today we in the Denver Metro Area awoke to about 2-4 inches of snow on the ground and a rather messy and prolonged commute.
Hoping to skip part of the commute debacle (which gets better in snow), I snow-blowed the driveway first. I headed out of the house at 7:10AM, a bit later than usual and got out of the snow-covered neighborhood with no issues on Yoshie, my V-Strom Sidecar Rig. I did take the extra caution of weighing down the rear end of the tug by putting the deep cycle battery (57 lbs) inside the topcase.
The roads leading to the main roads were OK, but heavily rutted and plastered with little ice "mines" which would sometimes cause my tug's front wheel to dance in my hands. No big deal, but it was a bit bumpy at times. I think they put the magnesium chloride a bit too late which causes such conditions, not sure though.
Arapahoe Road traffic, never the best during rush hours, was slow and glacial today....it moved but conditions didn't lend themselves to rapid commuting shall we say.
It had been only lightly snowing east of the I-25 Super Slab, but it really started coming down when I crossed under it and neared work! I kept having to brush snow/ice from the front of my visor every few seconds, but still, not a big deal.
The hardest part of the commute? The intersection of University Blvd and Arapahoe Road. It sits on top of a hill and cars were having a heck of a time making it up the slope at times. Yoshie did fine, dodging around stuck buses which were blocking multiple lanes of travel. I ended up ducking into the shopping center which houses the building I work in due to one particular bus who was stuck and blocking all westbound lanes of Arapahoe Road west of the intersection.
Slewing the rig around the mall's streets (not very well plowed yet), it was a bit of fun but had to pay attention to all the snow plows frantically moving about trying to clear the roads.
Finally got to the parking garage and got some photos of the scenery from the third and fourth levels:
Lightly snow-covered Yoshie
Treeline view from the fourth floor
Neighborhood entrance next to the parking garage
Not too much snow got on her eh?
So, not a bad commute per se, given the conditions. No close calls on the road, one idiot in the parking garage not paying attention to stop signs but I saw her approach and reacted accordingly.
Hope you got a ride in today, I'm looking forward to the ride home!
10 comments:
Pretty cool! You are one dedicated rounder especially negotiated the refrozen snow. That stuff is hard even with four wheels.
Looks like you got there first!
If it snowed here, I wouldn't even go to the office; I would telecommute, and the company would be advising people to stay home. (It doesn't snow here every year.)
I've always been a fair weather motorcyclists, but I'm thinking about getting a decent set of wet-weather gear. Not sure my classically-styled Avon tires are up to the task, so I might have to buy some tires that'll shed water, too.
Inspiring post!
Richard! You're back....where's the photos?
dom
Dear Charlie6 (Dom):
I was thinking of you today, as the sun beat down on my office in exile, and the mercury hit 59º, without skipping a beat. It will be warmer tomorrow - Closer to 70º in fact.
Of course, we could have one raging north Atlantic storm after another in March. Pennsylvania, to the west, got 22 inches in one shot last March.
Still, now thjat you got thye bike all covered with crap, how long will it take you to get that crud off the paint?
Fondest regards,
Jack/reep
Still sorting through the 1000+ photos....
Richard....pretty cool? pun intended? :)
Alan: the shots were at the fourth level which don't usually fill up. I don't know about inspiring but I do so enjoy the snow....weird huh?
Hi Jack! It takes me about 30 minutes to wash down the bike when I get around to it. Not much chrome on my motorcycles...chain maintenance takes a few more minutes, I should have stayed with Shaft Drive motorcycles but until more money is put away....
Thank you all for reading this stuff.
PS: what hit us today will probably head your way in a couple of days, Jack.
Great commute! I love the snow pictures...I know I always say that, but they're so pretty!
Yoshie looks like she needs to have a good shake to get that snow off :)
Oh, here you are with the white stuff again... I wonder what the thoughts of those drivers were watching you dodge around them. I am glad that your commute was otherwise uneventful.
Never have I imagined that traffic could be described as "glacial." Wow! This might have been one of those days when you could have called in saying "I can't make it to work due to the weather" and then just keep on going right out of town away from said glacial activity. But then again, I'll bet they they know you too well. Thanks Dom. What a fun read this was.
It's depressing to look at the pictures on this post. I have had my fill of winter -- the snow, ice, cold, grit, grime, slush, and all that stuff.
Please, I need some warm, sunny, balmy days. Send me an email when you are posting such things...
Steve Williams
Scooter in the Sticks
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