Sunday, January 07, 2007

Mother Natures Bullseye

Well, due to some rather unfriendly weather, I opted to abandon riding for most of this week. We haven't caught a break in the weather pattern that has us losing power at least once a week.

Wind and rain have had the starring roles in this epic adventure that we call Winter in the Pacific Northwest. The winds that we haven't seen the likes of since I don't know when, have been appearing roughly every 36 hours, and end up taking down trees and powerlines with each visit. The rain total for just this morning was 1.20 inches between 4:30 and 7:30 a.m. It was horizontal from the South, and pushed water under my back door leaving a nice puddle where a puddle has never been.

It's these types of uncommon conditions that have me thinking less about my want to ride to work everyday, and more about which is the safer way to get there. It's normal now to see road cones around flooded storm drains with lots of standing water on roads all over the city. I don't like driving through this stuff, let alone riding a scooter through it.

Right now we are looking at winds again tonight (always at night) and high winds in the forcast for Tuesday, leading up to an arctic front bringing snow and freezing temperatures through Wednesday. But...the skys will clear on Thursday they say, with cold, cold days, in store.

At some point I'll get my wheels under me again and resume commuting on my Big Ruckus. Just as soon as Mother Nature quits using us for target practice.

Have fun,
Bill

5 Comments:

Blogger Biker Betty said...

I totally understand your "winter blues." Hope you don't have to wait too long for good weather.

Betty :)

9:14 PM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

Hey Bill,

I can definitely relate to your situation I'm located on the other side of you Camano Island to be exact and I commute from the island to Seattle (HMC) everyday and this season has been very much challenge for me as well. The last snow storm we had I think the weekend after the Thanksgiving I dropped my bike on my way home. The ironic thing about it it happened less than 1 mile from my home. So I know what you mean I'll be driving instead of riding this week. I hate the fact that I won't be able to use the carpool lane so I'll be sitting on traffic with the rest of the cager. I commute 120 miles round trip everyday by the way. I have 2005 Ninja 250 with 31,000 miles which is now naked and I turned to a cruiser as well as 2004 Honda Silverwing with 6000 miles

Talk to you later

Art B
Camano Island

10:19 AM  
Blogger Bill Sommers said...

Betty,
Of anyone, you know how the winter weather affects our ability to ride. You have had a fair bit of snow already, if I'm not mistaken.

Here's to sunny days, and dry twisty roads!

Art,
Hey neighbor. As commuters, we've had a rough go don't you think? I prefer to ride, but man, this is getting to be a bit much. Now we have another big wind on the radar, with all the cold coming.

At least I'm not the only one around here that'll feel bummed about having to drive to work.

I like both of your ride choices. Fill me in on how the Silverwing handles the job as a commuter.

Have fun,
Bill

8:51 PM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

Hey Bill,

Yap drove today instead of riding I have to leave Camano Island much earlier since I have to sit on traffic like the rest of the cagers. I've seen one rider on the Carpool and envied him for a minutes after that I settled and enjoy the warm and comfort of my Van. As far as the Silverwing as a commuter I'm comparing this to my Ninja 250. It is much stable, lots more power since it's a 600. I love the automatic transmission especially during traffic hours. My mileage is not a great as my Ninja 250 54 mpg compare to 72mpg on the Ninja. I love the weather protection overall it's a great commuter bike. I was also contemplating if your BR would be an ideal commuter bike for me? Would it be able to maintain a speed between 65 to 70 mph? Just curious...

Take care

Art

12:57 PM  
Blogger Bill Sommers said...

Art,
Considering the fact that the highest wind gust today in PA was a whopping 64 mph, I was doggone happy to be driving my old beater Citation.

Now, as far as a commuter goes, I'm thinking that your Silverwing is probably a better bet for the distance that you ride. For one thing, you have the leg shield and high windscreen protection that the BR doesn't offer. And although I've cruised happily at 65-70 mph, the BR tops out at around 80 or so. You've still got some ponies under the hood that my 250 doesn't have.

Oh, and unfortunatly the Big Ruckus will no longer be offered in the US as of '06. Other than that, I like it for my needs, and suggest that if you get a chance to ride one, do it. It's a fun little ride.

Have fun,
Bill

7:26 PM  

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