Is This a Good Idea?
There was a time when days of snow would have led to some sort of riding attempt on my Vespa scooter. I was young. Fresh. And stupid perhaps. No longer do I roll out the scooter into the fresh snow to “see how it does.” I know the answer to that question. Now I make different choices.
Regarding the question, “Is this a good idea?” I’m leaning towards no.
Dogs and Snow
Our dogs love the snow. They seem to switch to a higher energy level when there are days of snow. They shed years of maturity as they frolic, yes, Junior does frolic even though he’s closing in on his 13th birthday. He only frolics in the snow.
Lily on the other hand is high-energy all the time and leaps and bounds through the recent dry powder. She seems fascinated by snow. And both dogs, with their long hair, come into the house carrying a lot of snow packed into their fur, on their legs, and all over their feet. They know the drill — stand and let daddy clean off the snow with a towel. I think they love the attention.
Photography Project
I’ve been making photographs at the Pennsylvania Military Museum for over two decades. But since the start of the pandemic, I’ve begun working on a specific project that brings me often to the grounds to make pictures.
Trudging through a foot of snow in heavy boots is hard work. Not unlike pushing a dead Vespa a mile home. But if you want to make photographs you have to get out.
I’ll share more about the project when I build a spot on the blog for it to live.
What have you been doing to pass the time during a snow storm?
Stay warm and stay safe!
Steve always amazed at the beautiful snow world we see from you. I hope my broken record of saying it’s warm here in Texas isn’t to annoying. The forecast calls for near 80° tomorrow. Do you guys have much wind to deal with too?? I sometimes won’t ride much if we have a strong wind say 30+, yet warm temp. I have another question to ask how many miles do you now have on your scooter??? Thanks a million for your continued posts and words of wisdom☮
You can keep reports of warm weather coming all you want Don. It’s good to know that warm weather exists. The weather forecasting groundhog says we are going to have six more weeks of winter and it sure appears to be true. In a few days, we’ll see the temperature dropping into the low teens at night with snow showers hanging around.
I wasn’t sure how many miles I have on the Vespa so I walked out to the garage to check. 42575. When I guess I am almost always wrong. This past year has cut into the normal piling on of miles.
I’m sitting here now just looking out the window, watching birds at the feeder, and wondering if I should use a shovel or snow blower to clean the driveway. All the deep stuff was removed yesterday afternoon but another 3 inches fell since then. Light powder in the cold.
Mostly though the winter has given me the opportunity to think. Not unlike how I do when riding. And the conclusion I have is life is good. Even amidst the pandemic. Sure, we miss seeing people and doing things, but we’re accepting of reality and make appropriate choices on a day-to-day basis. The weather will eventually change and the roads will invite me back. Until then I have other passions to pursue.
And as always, thank you for taking the time to stop by and comment. I know some bloggers who never reply to comments and feel they are a burden. For me, sharing has been one of the important aspects of blogging. The comments people make and share almost always get me thinking of something. Starter fluid for the mind!
Our main roads are clear and mostly dry with temps in the mid 20’s. Hmmm! There is decent footing for traipsing about, the winds are light and the batteries are all up to snuff? I could spend the next 45 minutes sourcing and donning the gear, snag a 30 minute ride out to Hockley and back, spend a few minutes rinsing the winter road crud from the noble mount. Spend another 20 minutes getting undressed, dressed again and warming up? Or have another espresso and tuck into what appears to be a new Scooter in The Sticks installment? All these thoughts burble away while Shirley preps her made from scratch banana pancakes. The desire to ride is strong but the desire for comfort and banana pancakes appears to be stronger. We are faced with difficult choices everyday but with resolve and character we will suffer through and live to ride again, maybe when it’s warmer?
Thanks for helping with my decision Steve.
There’s no doubt that the preparation for riding in cold weather is daunting. And if the siren song of warmth and banana pancakes is near, how can any rider be expected to venture into the cold on a motorcycle?
I remember backpacking in winter and waking with fresh snow on the ground, boots frozen, and all I could think of is a faint hope that there remained enough embers from the previous night’s fire that I would quickly be facing flames and heat. Riding is far easier than that but I have found it increasingly difficult to get up and out the door in the cold when the roads are clear.
So like you, I’ll suffer through the moment and have faith that I’ll ride again! It will get warm again. They say patience is a virtue right??
Best to you and Shirley.
I spent Monday and Tuesday behind the snow blower and resting up afterwards. It was necessary to do the driveway and front walk three times instead of the usual once. A four foot tall pile now graces the end of the driveway and the mailbox looks like it’s laying in the snow as the three foot tall post is buried in white.
There is a certain relation to riding and using the snow blower. Listening to the sound of the engine and gearbox straining as it moves the snow reminds me of rides past.
Same here — twice using the snowblower and once today with a shovel. My pile is under 3 feet. I slept well last night though!
You’re exactly right about the similarity of the snowblower and riding. I was enjoying the engine noise and progress. I have a single stage TORO so it is pretty simple but there is an ebb and flow to the engine noise that is similar to being on the road.
Toronto is like a northern bubble, thanks to Lake Ontario which acts like a giant warming pad. How much snow do we have? I’d have to guess there is an inch in total accumulated. No snow angels in sight. Streets are bare. The high today is above freezing.
A perfectly fair question is whether I intend to ride today.
No.
I did ride the day before yesterday. I checked the battery and it was fine (thank heavens). I fired up the mighty Vespa and rode slowly from P1, to P3 to inspect our two bicycles that I have zero desire to ride. They are filthy dusty, have flat tires, and need some TLC that I have no desire to give them.
That’s what happens when I spend too much time each and every day counting down the days to when our brand spanking new Brompton bicycles will be in our hot little hands. Today, it’s looking to be day 26.
The Bromptons will live in the front hall closet, not in the garage where anything that is untouched for more than a few years begins to disappear under a fine layer of dust imported and very efficiently distributed by the hundreds of cars. The Vespa sits under its branded cover where it is still nice and shiny.
It’s a shame really. That I am neglecting my now-vintage Norco ultra light road bike, and the Specialized gravel bike I inherited from my dad. How he must be shaking his head. So sad. That’s life.
Now where the heck are our Bromptons? Oh right. sitting in parts bins at the factory in London, or maybe in the paint shop, waiting to be assembled in the next week or so.
If I had Junior or Lily here, they wouldn’t be impressed due to the lack of snow.
We’ll go for a walk around lunch time.
Can’t you just feel the second hand diligently sweeping across my watch face?
At this point in winter, I will welcome any kind of bubble of quasi-warmth. Today the temperature will hit 38F under sunny skies so I plan to take the Vespa out to drain some of the pent-up mental chaos that only a ride seems to soften. The roads will be clear though I expect to see some water running in places. I’ll just have to get the clean scooter splashed up again with road filth.
Bicycles. We have two mountain bikes here — a Specialized for Kim and a Schwinn for me. Neither has seen use in a long, long time. I fear my arthritis makes riding a painful experience for my joints with the hard, unregulated bumps on the road. I’ll try again when the weather warms but I think walking is my exercise future for the most part.t
Brompton bikes look cool but I wonder how they’ll be in use with those small wheels? I suppose riding in town will be great where you won’t expect to achieve continual higher speeds. As far as the dogs not being happy with a lack of snow, they would be thrilled to go for a walk in the city!
I hate that second hand sweep…
Steve, there’s a richness to your black and white images that elicit feelings of nostalgia for me. My own interpretations, of course: the photographs of the dogs have a quiet beauty and optimism to them, and the tree image seems to include sadness with its solitude. I’m sitting here looking it over, trying to figure out which qualities evoke that kind of response. Interesting how the image remains the same but the message varies between viewers, depending on our experiences or personality, or a million other factors.
I appreciate your thoughts on when choosing to ride might not be the best option. With limited success, I’ve been searching for that magic elixir of activities that seems to be a salve to my soul like riding is. I can thank the pandemic for stretching me in this pursuit!
It’s strange that I continue to produce black and white photographs. For a long time, I avoided color photography because of the difficulty of producing good prints that I could control. For work and publication, I did, but for personal work, I remained in black and white. Even now with digital cameras and an excellent photo printer capable of making fine color prints, I continue to work in black and white for everything but my riding photos. I’m not sure why exactly other than as you’ve said, black and white does evoke a response that is different than color. I’m not sure what it is either.
I hope you have more luck than I’ve had to find an activity that equals riding. Walking comes close but I never feel the soaring of my spirit while walking. I really haven’t been looking too hard though…
After my world’s-slowest lowside (3mph or so) some two Winters ago, I’ve generally kept my snowy riding to the bare minimum. This doesn’t mean I wait until there’s scarcely a patch of snow or ice anywhere: my main problem over the last few days was getting in and out of the driveway, where the city’s snowplows created their all-too-usual “accidental fortress” in front of our house, which took hours of shoveling to get through. By the time I managed that, the main roads were all but bone-dry, amid the mountains of plowed snow at the side. I took Melody out yesterday and today, getting errands done while keeping her vitals…vital. (Yes, it’s fun to see people do double-takes at my rolling about.)
Oh, and dogs: Le Wife’s younger son brought his dog, Pepper, with him when he moved in last August, and We’ve all taken turns letting her out into the backyard to do her thing: there’s still a lot of snow out there, and even though she’s not exactly a snow-loving pup like yours seem to be, she eventually gets into sprinting back-and-forth with gusto. (She’s an Aussie cattle-dog mix.) I’m more a cat guy than dog-guy, but she’s still a sweetie most of the time. (Her encounters with Tapper, the Wonder Cat, are reminiscent of certain Tom & Jerry cartoons.)
Once again, great photos, including both doggos!
Your low side spill sounds much like my own 15 years ago. It’s a sudden event and you just feel helpless to do anything. At least that was my experience. I still roll in snow from time to time but I am much savvier than I was then. Experience breeds skill if you’re paying attention.
We get the same accidental fortress effect here. After my heart attack, my cardiologist insisted I get a snowblower. It’s an amazing little machine. Even though it’s a single-stage unit, it chews right through whatever the plow can pile up. The roads are clear now but there is plenty of snow around. Planned to ride today but chores got in the way. It will be getting a lot colder now so I’ll play it by ear.
Dogs. You have to love them. Cats too. I’ve had plenty of both.
Thanks for the kind words about the photos. I’ve started building out a photo section in the blog. Tedious work. Much more to do. A work in progress.