Friday, December 4, 2009

Commuting – December 4

commuting on the ural in the snow 2009-12-04

Today was my first day commuting to work on my new Ural Patrol. It was a blast! I also have set my new low temp riding record at 13F (–10C). I am amazed how much more comfortable I am with a fairing and windshield as none of the rest of my bikes have a windshield.

When I was riding my SV650 to work at 25F, I had my heated vest and gloves on high. With the Ural I am, only at low on the vest and high on the gloves. My hands did get a bit cold on the way to work, but then I mounted my hippo hands after work and I had to turn the heated gloves to medium or low! I hated the hippo hands on my scooter, but they work really great on the Ural.

I went for a long ride around town after work. It took a few hours and I went just over 100km. I was quite warm and comfortable. My visor kept fogging, so I kept it open slightly which seemed to solve the problem. My feet also started to get chilled after about an hour, so I bumped the heat up on my vest from low to medium which solved the problem.

After a couple hours, my shoulders and upper back were getting quite tired, so I headed for home along the river. Pushing the hack around corners is quite tiring! The pic below is of the new 35W bridge over the Mississippi. I had never seen it at night from below. I l love the blue lights. The top is also covered in blue light when on the freeway.

35W Bridge over Mississippi River at Night

In total, I spent about three hours riding around in 20F! I put just over 100km on the Patrol during that time. I now have about 170km with just another 230km to go. Then I can ride it the 100km to the first 500km service.

2 comments:

  1. Chris:

    A whole world of possibilities has opened for you. Nothing can stop you now. I also liked the night shots on your previous entry (below). Did you use a tripod ? was just wondering. I've also been doing some night exposures lately.

    Your Ural looks like fun, especially in the snow

    bob
    bobskoot: wet coast scootin

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  2. Thanks Bob. Yes, it really feels like lots of new things are possible now. I have a tripod, but it usually sits at home behind the door. Those night shots below are free hand. The blue bridge above was with the camera pressed against the mirror on the Ural. The Ural is a blast. I highly recommend one, and I can't wait to ride on more snow.

    -Chris

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