The clock radio alarm went off this morning with the weather report warning of possible ice on untreated surfaces due to fog. As enchanting as fog can be it has to be carefully considered when the thermometer is pointing at 32F.
After walking the dog, paying attention to the road surface, and watching the thermometer rise I made the decision to ride to work.
The roads were mostly dry or damp with no obvious ice. Keeping the helmet visor clear was an ongoing challenge until the helmet came off at work.
The meandering trip passed through familiar places though always strangely different when shrouded in fog. I remember wandering through these places on foot with my big wooden view camera exposing sheets of black and white film and watching the world appear in a tray of developer in the darkroom.
I miss those days.
The only ice to be found this morning was off the road and halfway to town the temperature indicator on the Vespa displayed 34F.
Cutting across the east end of campus afforded a nice view of Mount Nittany emerging from a muted sunrise.
Only scooters in the parking lot now though with predictions of the temperature approaching 50 later in the week could see a few motorcycles around.
The biggest downside of commuting this time of year is darkness at the end of the day. While it wasn’t cold, 35F, it can be discouraging to climb aboard the Vespa in the dark on days when it is cold.
This day, I was just glad the warnings of frozen fog did not materialize. Just another fine Vespa commute to start the day right.
Really nice foggy photos. We are well past the fog stage and into the really low humidity time of the year.
I echo RichardM’s remark about the fog photos! Do you know the other brave scooter rider?
RichardM: We get big temperature fluctuations through the winter so fog is always a possibility during those melts…
Charlie6: The other scooter rider is our art director and my long time friend and colleague Pete. He is a year round rider and pure commuter.