Winter Time Blues.....

Back in cold storage until 2021. Keep on ridin if you can.....

We got 6+ inches of snow (sh#t no one wants) in Eastern Nebraska today, that picture looks very similar. Took my hotrod for a drive yesterday, I figured the roads wouldn't be clean and dry for a while. Today reinforced the belief that my snowblower IS NOT my favorite toy, maybe one notch above a snow scoop!

Come on Spring! Mike

Unless you are some form of a misbegotten soul, winter flat stinks. I hate it with a passion. I had to endure 30 years of winters working as a cop and I was never disappointed in how drivers failed to remember what it was like to safely operate a motor vehicle in/on snow and ice. Then came the great revelation about "black ice". Everyone started calling ice "black". Well there is no such thing, ice isn't black unless it it dyed, but blaming your inability to safety operate your vehicle on "black ice" sounds way better than "I am a plain stupid driver". And lets not forget that bridge overpasses have a nasty habit of icing over when the temps are just right, but people forget that little tidbit too and change lanes, or sharply apply their brakes on overpasses and wonder why they just hit a median the wall or another vehicle. Yep, must have been that darned "black ice" again. I wish I had a nickel for every time I heard someone blame their crash on "black ice". I would be a millionaire. Sorry if I sound biased about winter, but the only times my cruiser was hit was when I was stopped with my emergency lights on assisting others involved in crashes. The last time I was hit the driver blamed it on...you guessed it, "black ice"! I picked up a piece of his "black ice" and held it in front of his face and asked him if it was black? He just glared at me. Needless to say I enjoyed another trooper issuing a citation to Mr. Black Ice. In fact he got two citations as his license was suspended for failure to pay a prior citation. Gotta love it.

Rick H.

Just try texting while driving on the notorious "black ice"!

(I hope you know I'm joking) Mike

Fortunately winters don't last to long here in so-cal.

Don’t want to jinx myself but here we have had above average temps. The forecast is looking like upper 30’s knocking on 40 for the next 10 days. I saw a report of ice fishing tournaments being in jeopardy of canceling. Last year at the largest Michigan tournament in Houghton Lake several four wheelers and snow machines went thru the ice. So far this winter We have had 3 days of snow that has disappeared in 48 hrs or less. But still to cold to ride.

I just bought some cross country skis

Stay safe and always be prepared.....

The old man said his local lake froze over but opened up again this week. Looks like those guys got caught out! Assuming that's not in SoCal

Back when I lived in the Chicagoland area, winter was building season. That way I could take my time and not be rushed to finish it like you do during the riding season. I would get all my parts I needed to update, build, or rebuild ordered by Thanksgiving. That way everything I needed usually came in by Christmas. Drop off my welder and machinist's favorite bottle of liquor just before Christmas. That way I knew they would be a good mood when I started dropping off all my projects to them. That big dollar bottle of liquor sure made a BIG difference in their prices they charged me after that!!!!!

Tried to get at least one bike running by Daytona time in early March. It sure was a lot nicer to do some riding down in Daytona in March than back home in Chicago. I can remember putting on my snowmobile jacket over my leathers in late March or early April in Chicago just to go out for my first test ride of the season. I can also remember crashing a just finished bike just THREE CORNERS away from my house on a patch of ice!!!!! Its cold like winter up here in the mountains of Arizona. By March it will be nice enough to start riding again up here!!!!!

That's pretty much what I do here. Back home the winters were pretty mild, but it's a whole different story in Germany.

May have bitten off a bit more than I can chew this winter though...