Had to get it out of my system.

Over a week now of no riding due to snowpacked roads. My inner voice had been whispering in my ear: "Go ahead, try to get out to the main roads, it's doable...." and I had been resisting. Today, even my loving wife mentioned I'd be fine if I could just get out to the cleared main roads only one block away.


So, I geared up, fired up the bike, took some deep breaths and rode out into the culdesac. It was fine up until the point where I stopped at the entrance to the culdesac to check for traffic. The packed snow felt slick beneath my boots. I ever so gently eased out the clutch to get going only to find that my rear tire now had ZERO grip on the snow. It in fact just dug a shallow trench for itself, but never reaching pavement. I was stuck.

That's as far as I got....

Stuck

I called a friend, he arrived after I'd managed to pull Maria out of the small hole the rear wheel had dug into the snow. As he pushed, I tried to ride her back to the garage, again, no grip on the rear tire and the only progress we made as my friend pushed as sort of sideways, no real control by my front wheel.


Gave up and we, now joined also by my neighbor, just pushed the bike along to the dry spot in front of my driveway, from there I rode her into the garage and back to her parking spot. Safe and sound, no drops and no falls.


Shortest ride on record. Had to prove it to myself, Maria is just not cut out for snowy roads, the threads on her tires have no grip. I must wait for the snow to melt and the roads to clear.

Happy New Year to you all. Here's hoping for some warm weather!!!

Still no Riding, withdrawal symptoms setting in....

So we ended up getting almost 3ft of snow in my neighborhood and in the overall Denver Metro Area. Much digging was done by my wife and I along with my neighbors in our culdesac. Not one of us had a snow blower but luckily one of the neighbors, Mike, had this awesome 4x4 Dodge Pickup truck that he used to bulldoze a main path out of the culdesac and then he returned to bulldoze a path to each of our driveways! Thanks Mike!

Had I known he was going to do that, I would not have bothered to try and clear a way out of the culdesac myself! Oh well.

Once it finally stopped snowing after 2 days or so, we started digging. Here's the results of the first day's worth of digging. Ibuprofen was my friend.

Maria, waiting out the snowstorm

Day 2 of Digging.

Day 4 of Digging.

It's not gotten much better since the day 4 pic above, have basically given up on being able to clear a way to the side street. That street is a mess so even getting out of the culdesac buys me no exit for the motorcycle. I am stuck with waiting for the snow to melt.

Skis for Bikes!

Ok, so I am not the only one insane enough to even think of the possibility of ski outriggers for motorcycles on these snowy days! This was published in 1951, way before our present culture of frivolous lawsuits, but still a fun read/concept.


Fom the back cover of the March 1 1951 Accessories Catalog: Motorcycle skis. Enjoy motorcycling year ‘round with Indian skis. Made of top quality ash with full steel runner, skis support machine on snow and ice, operate independently according to foot pressure and allow you to lean and turn with complete control. Spring loaded tubular arms lift skis for riding on clear roads. Designed for Indian lightweights. Easily adapted to other light makes.

You'll note they say "lightweights", not one of Maria's endearing qualities!

Link where I found the above pic. (more pics as well)

Then there's this device to help guys learn how to be kneesliders on the track....just figure out a way to put skis on them.....hmmmm


Then there's the military option:

Swedish Police Bike

If you've info on the above 2 bikes, let me know!

Of course, a more viable option is a sidecar, which gives you the stability of four wheels like cars have so you don't worry about dropping the bike. All other dangers of riding on snow/ice still apply of course:

Snow Day: No riding today.

Temps in low 20s, gusting winds and snowy/slushy roads.

Dang, the weather guys did not overhype it for today. It's snowing pretty good with rather windy conditions. Yesterday, they were complete wrong, today....we'll you can see we're getting it pretty good. Wind conditions are driving the snow sideways, I am watching the requisite weatherman reporting from outside in the snow and they're cringing as the snow hits them.

Working from home, glad I have that option. Traffic is crap out there:

Near where I work