Too Cold to work on bikes

[Duchess]

This is why when Florida family brag about the mild winter weather from their nicer houses that cost less than half as much as up here built atop porous limestone in hurricane alley, I say the winters aren't that bad at all. And then I swallow my jealousy over their long boating seasons.

 

[us56456712]

This is why when Florida family brag about the mild winter weather from their nicer houses that cost less than half as much as up here built atop porous limestone in hurricane alley, I say the winters aren't that bad at all. And then I swallow my jealousy over their long boating seasons.

This type of climate, black flies and hardly any sun year round keeps the riff raft out.

 

[horsefarmer]

Every Winter is different, but this one With record cold, winds and snow pack seems worse than usual.
I'm in almost same boat as us56456712 cause I can't get in my shed or back garage do to ice and snow. The horses make trails around the pastures and they are hard packed and very walk able, but if you step off the trail you sink down maybe 2 feet and stop immediately. Dangerous if you loose balance, feels like you could break a leg and tricky to extricate yourself. Saw a deer licking road salt off the hwy near our farm 2 days ago while walking. Car came up and spooked it, it jumped into the ditch to flee and stopped dead, all 4 legs immobilized in the chest deep snow the plows have piled up in the ditch. The car stopped to watch the deer somehow get moving and flee, but slowly. I have to think the deer population will take quite a hit this year.
I hear you Dutchess, and see truly catastrophic tornadoes, fire storms and flooding on the news. I know things could be much worse. Hope we have enough hay for horses and firewood. Now nearby cities are running low on road salt and looks like at least 2 more snow/ice storms coming in next 10 day forecast!

 

[us56456712]

-11. The DNR is predicting that 40% of the deer herd will perish this winter. If the snow lasts longer than average it could be 60%. I will run out of firewood for the first time. They don't bother salting or sanding our roads, it's always a sheet of ice. If they do sand, it's a token amount on the inside curve so cars don't slide into the other lane. The outside lane cars slide into the ditch or woods. A lot of road closures this winter while they dig out from blizzards.

 

[horsefarmer]

Around here only main roads salted. Took cat to vet couple of days ago, must drive super cautious on glare ice. Looks like a coffee can of sand spread around at every stop sign. When county roads get salted, its a thin band down the center line so a game of chicken hugging dry pavement with 2 wheels as long as possible till the salt gets spread around. Not as windy, and sunny. Temp of 29 now, Didn't need my old USAF parka today for chores this morning.

 

[us56456712]

-10F

 

[us56456712]

Around here only main roads salted. Took cat to vet couple of days ago, must drive super cautious on glare ice. Looks like a coffee can of sand spread around at every stop sign. When county roads get salted, its a thin band down the center line so a game of chicken hugging dry pavement with 2 wheels as long as possible till the salt gets spread around. Not as windy, and sunny. Temp of 29 now, Didn't need my old USAF parka today for chores this morning.

Thanks for the heads up. I didn't realize the time change was coming.

 

[us56456712]

-1F. Could the cold be ending? Still to cold to work on bikes.
Edit: it's now -2F, still warmer than it's been in a long time.

 

[horsefarmer]

Supposed to be a sunny 30 deg day today. Hope to get the Diesel pickup dug out and running and get a load of firewood. Gotta Tarp it when I get home tho, cause due to get 6" heavy snow with 30 mph winds starting about 36 hours from now.

 

[handyandy1100]

I remember getting a taste of this kind of stuff growing up in Ohio.

Reading this makes me feel less homesick since moving to NC. I solute y'all's steadfastness in dealing with nature's nastiness.

Sent from my Pixel 2 XL using Tapatalk

 

[us56456712]

+8F, finally heading in the right direction.

 

[us56456712]

+24 and snowing, 4 inches so far. Spring is here!

 

[us56456712]

34F, warm enough in my shop attic to work on bikes. I can't use my electric lift yet as there is too much snow under it. I have some bikes that need to be raised into the attic so I can work on them. I think I can get them up there in another month. The cold has finally broken, and it looks like it will be warmer for the next 10 days.

 

[HuffnPuff]

Wow! I can’t fathom the weather being so cold your stuff won’t work. Coldest it gets around here is that it’s uncomfortable to be outside without covering either your hands or your head (both isn’t necessary) and not usually during the middle of the day when it’s 15-17C.

On the other hand, much of the last 3 months has been such that it’s hot enough to work up a sweat doing something as ‘light’ as brushing your teeth.

 

[us56456712]

It got above freezing for 3 days and the snow started to slide off the metal roof on the storage shed where I keep my combustibles. A sheet of snow that turned into ice slid halfway off the metal roof and stopped. It's hanging over the roof and the off center weight caused the shed to twist enough that the door is sprung. I can't get it shut. Good news, it didn't collapse, but another garage in town collapsed earlier in the week. It's snowing again now and 22F. Warmer than it's been. My garage got flooded with the 3 days of above freezing temperatures. Water is over the laces in my snow boots so you can't get in there without getting your feet wet. It hasn't frozen yet but all the stuff in the garage is still frozen to the floor from the last freezing flood. What a mess. I have the shop door proper open with firewood so you can get in but any bike work in it or in the shop attic is out of the question.

 

[LukeTheJoker]

Got to 30 degrees here today!




Celsius that is...

 

[us56456712]

Got to 30 degrees here today!




Celsius that is...

It's now -11, Celsius that is. I't a winter wonder land, or more like a waste land. Snowed again yesterday. As soon as it warms just a little the maple trees will start their sap run and everyone will be out trying to get through 4 feet of snow to the sugar bush to tap them. A sure sign spring is trying to come.

 

[us56456712]

My winter bike was buried for 2 months, today it is peaking through. Just in time for me not to need it.

 

[us56456712]

24F, getting there. Still snow up to the hood of my truck. Bad winter. It's very windy (24 mph with 40 mph gusts) and it's a sideways white out blizzard now. Slush city durning the height of some days, especially if it's sunny. I have about half the ice chipped off my concrete shop floor. In a week I should be able to open the other door, it's frozen shut with about 6-10 inches of ice on the outside. My above pictured ice bike is still frozen in to where I can't get to it. Today we are going to our storage unit and will attempt to chip out a foot of ice that is piled up on it. It's melting slowly, even if it is below freezing as the sun is high enough to cause some melting, of course it has to be sunny, an unfrequent event in the UP. Quite a few days of rain are predicted in the two week forecast so that will help. April is our worst month, can't do anything outside. Once all this snow melts it's going to cause the Great Lakes to be full (Lake Superior is still 40% ice covered) and the Ohio and Mississippi Rivers should be very high. Update, we got half the ice chipped away from the storage unit door but roaring winds made us quit.

 

[Rat Rod]

All of that would drive me nuts.

I lived in Midland, Mi from age 8 to 16 and that was all of the cold and snow I ever needed.

It dipped down into the upper 40s here in Texas today with 30mph winds after being in the mid 70s all week. That's enough to keep us Texans in doors until the sun comes back out again.