Rain

It is raining.

And, not just a quick five minutes and gone. So far a little over an half of inch of rain has fallen, and it is still raining.

I was out and about out in the country yesterday. The corn is past help, but the soybeans will certainly perk up a bit with a nice drink.

Strange

The weather has been certainly different this winter.

It isn't even February and look what I spied this morning.

I rode to work everyday during the month of December. I rode to work every day this January except two. On those two days the roads were snow covered and slippery. Other than that it has been easy commuting. And, I'm looking at abundant sunshine and temperatures in the 60F's for the rest of January. It's not that the mildness of the Winter is unwelcome, it just seems strange.

One can only wonder what February will bring.

Over the River

It is divided highway and limited access with a speed limit of 60mph and a minimum speed of 40mph. It has at least four lanes each way. It is the Page Extension. It is the route I need ride my Symba to cross the Missouri River when traveling out to visit my son, daughter-in-law, and grand-daughter. It, also, has a really wide shoulder and is nearly deserted on the weekends. It was quite the adventure to ride this route before I got my chain replaced. Now it is not so bad. This time I touched 55smph (Symba miles per hour) a couple times over the bridge. Cars still whizzed by me, but they had lots of lanes to do it in.

The usual drill is I get there and we spend some time together and then go out for lunch. We are always going to go somewhere else, but always seem to end up at Chili's.

The kids.

Is that a black bean patty hiding in there? Maybe. Maybe not.

Next we head back to their place and I gear up and then head for home. Did I mention the temperature was 95F when I left for the kid's place? It was. And, it was 100F when I left their place. I had recharged my Glacier Tech Cool Vest while we were at lunch and put that on under my mesh Tourmaster jacket. The vest does keep my core cool and it holds its charge for over two hours in +100F heat. My only concern about it is how hard the "frozen" packets would be to fall on.

I was feeling so good about how well the bike was running and how well my hot weather gear was working that I decided not to go straight home. Creve Coeur Lake is one of my favorite destinations and it was on the way so I decided to stop by. Besides I was curious as to how many folks would be out in this kind of heat. Usually on a hot day you can't find a place to park, but that wasn't the case today.

The place was nearly abandoned.

And, there were only a couple sail boats on the water.

There appeared to be a couple of reunions going on and if not for them I'd have had the place to myself.

Some guys were playing with a four-wheeled people powered vehicle. These and kayaks are for rent to the public. 

An educational moment.

Dripping Springs.

I was going to take the long way home but it started to look like one of those late afternoon pop-up storms was brewing. Since the weather forecast hadn't mentioned rain I'd not brought my rain gear, but with it being over 100F I wasn't concerned about getting wet. So, I put my wallet and cellphone in the top case and away I went. But, the further I got the darker it got and then it began to thunder and lightning. I saw a McDonald's and decided that a lemonade would taste real good.

By the time I'd finished my lemonade the storm had passed and and blue skies had returned.

I'd left the house around 1030hr and returned at 1700hr. I put approximately 75mi on the bike.

It was a very good day.

Winter Doesn't Wish To Leave

We may end up with 5 inches of new snow.  I suspect the daffodil wasn't surprised, but I was. Tomorrow a predicted high in the 40F's. Perhaps just a little speed bump on the way to Spring.

So Near, Yet Too Far

There is a block and a half of ice between the Symba and the open road.

Billie is hidden behind one of the garage doors on your right. The white is not snow it is sleet covered by ice.

This is where the alley meets Ivanhoe Street.

Ivanhoe is the street that leads to freedom. The City of St. Louis concentrates its resources on clearing  streets that have been designated  as snow routes. Ivanhoe is not a snow route. The snow removal strategy for streets not designated as snow routes is to simply let the snow melt on its own.

We have had just enough warm weather followed by quite cold weather to make the side streets not only very slick, but rutted as well. Usually when the streets get this way, I cheat and ride the Symba out on the sidewalks, but the sidewalks are not in much better shape. So, even though all the other streets I take to work are clear and dry,  I'm stuck commuting by car.

This is the view from the File Room where I work looking towards Police Headquarters.

This is from another window. The Police Headquarters is on the left, but now part of City Hall is in view. Notice how nice and dry Tucker Blvd is.

Others are riding. My friend Maggie rode both yesterday and today. And, as I was taking photos I noticed a scooter parked on the sidewalk in front of the Jail.

The nice thing about a 50cc scooter is you can park it anywhere.

Apparently if  you take the markings off  your 150cc scooter and pretend it is a 50cc,  you can park it anywhere you want as well. You can even park it right in front of the City Jail. I don't think that would be my choice..

The high today was 20F and the low tonight is expected to be 8F. The forecasters are predicting a warm up to begin on Friday with the high in the mid to upper 30F's. By Sunday we may see temperatures in the 50F's. So, soon the scene that greeted me when I arrived home tonight may only be a memory.

Early evening on the Ivanhoe Ice Field.

But, until then clear highway will remain so near, yet too far.

Sleet.

The freezing rain continued on and off through out the night.

Ice can be beautiful

We got enough ice to make the trees pretty, but not enough for the power lines to come tumbling down.

Unsightly icy build-up as of 0900 CST

We didn't get the snow the forecasters had warned us about, but we got lots of sleet.

Ice and sleet build-up as of 1330 CST

People pretty much heeded the warnings to stay in. Again, this is sleet not snow. If it had been snow it would have been quite deep.

On my walk I saw this car. I suspect this isn't what its owner had in mind. I think someone is in for an unpleasant surprise.

The sleet and freezing rain mixed on the ground to make something that was like sand. Walking in it was like walking on the beach. You can see how it flew into the air as this car went by. When I got home I told Heather it was more like sand than ice or snow. I said, "I could ride in this. I should get Billie out." She said, " A . . . no." Billie stayed in the garage.

As that famous former St. Louisan once said, "It ain't over til it's over," but it does appear the St. Louis Metropolitan Area dodged a bullet. We may get two to four inches of snow over night, but that is a far cry from the numbers that were originally bandied about.

And, we are one day closer to Spring.

Ice Tonight, Snow Tomorrow, And Wind On Wednesday

It begins with ice.

When I got to the parking lot after work this was my windshield

A co-worker working on her windshield. She and I walked to the lot together. We got sprayed by a passing car on our way. It wasn't a mere misting, I'm talking a wall of water. She got really wet. I was wearing my rain gear and waterproof boots. I don't think she liked me very much at that moment. But, I helped her clean off her car and all was forgiven.

By the time I finished helping my friend clear her windows my rear window didn't look like this anymore. The ice was pretty much melted off. I'm always surprised at why folks here don't just let the car warm up before they start scraping. Maybe I'm just lazy.

Now we wait to see how much snow covers the ice. The forecasters at the National Weather Service were referring to this storm as "potentially historic" in its severity. Now they are referring to it as merely "crippling." I guess that is a down grade.

What A Difference A Couple Of Days Can Make

Today it was 33F and I saw Sun. I had to ride. When I rolled Billie, my 2010 Symba, out of the garage the alley looked like this:

Thursday night, just a couple of days ago, the alley looked much different:

I normally wouldn't choose to leave my garage when the alley looks like it did Thursday evening, but Billie's new tires were in. And, if I didn't get them put on Thursday night, I would have to wait until sometime in February. I had close to seven thousand miles on the original tires and really wanted them changed out. So, I decided to ride. The main roads were clear and at 25F the chemicals to melt the ice would be working just fine. No worry there. Of course, the alley and the side street might present a problem, but that was only the distance of a couple of hundred yards.

I eased out into the alley and stayed in the snow that hadn't been driven on. It provided decent traction. So far so good. When I got to the street it got more complicated, but I kept reminding myself to keep a steady throttle, to make no sudden movements, not to panic when my countersteering didn't produce immediate results, to trust the bike, to keep my hand off that front brake, and to keep my feet on the pegs. It all worked out, but I was glad to get to the main road, and even happier when I got to Maplewood Scooter Company.

Mike and Jake were waiting for me. They were even staying late, just so we could get these tires changed. Mike is closing his shop out in Kansas City and moving all his operations here. Since he has to be out of his Kansas City shop by the beginning of February, he was leaving the next day to finish up the job. Thus my sense of urgency.

Here are the new tires. The original tires were both the same size. We decided to go with a larger and wider tire for the rear. Mike thought it would give me more stability. Sounded good to me.

This is the old front tire. I'm not sure how one can tell if this tire is worn out, but I've not liked the tread pattern since the day I rode Billie home for the first time and I've been eager to change it out. But, being frugal, 6700 miles seemed as if I had been patient enough.

This is the old rear tire. Looking at the picture I'm wondering if the camera adds tread to a tire, like it adds pounds to a person's figure. The tread didn't look as good as it does in this picture believe me.

And, here she is modeling her new Michelin Gazelles. We also replaced the headlamp. It looks brighter, but I've not been on streets without lighting to see how much of an improvement this makes.

Everything went smoothly with the installation. I like boring and drama free experiences at the shop. After an hour or so, it was time to head home. And, it was a wonderful ride home. I was feeling fine and really enjoying the ride . . . and then I turned into my side street. Here is the scene:

I know it couldn't have changed it the couple of hours I'd been gone. I know it was still only two hundred yards or so to my alley, but in the darkness it looked much longer. Ah, but as is often the case, there was only one way through it, and that was through it.

The ride back in was definitely more interesting -- lots more slippin' and a slidin' going on. I suspect Chris at  http://www.everydayriding.org/ would tell me I was finally having some fun, but I'm not sure that was what I was having. I will admit; however, that it was certainly satisfying to make it safely back to the garage without a spill.

Billie with gazelles full of snow

On the right old tire print and on the left the new.

Late this afternoon when I returned from my ride I stopped at the same place where I took the picture of my street last Thursday night:

What a difference a couple of days can make.

~Circle Blue & Billie

Alas, All Good Things Seem To Have To Come To An End

It started snowing early Christmas Eve Day.

This is what greeted us as we left the condo to walk over to the coffee shop.

The initial forecasts were for the snow to begin in the afternoon. This was a little after 9:00 am. Oops.

After breakfast Heather and I walked to the bank and then did some shopping. The roads were fine. We could have driven, but it was right around the freezing mark and it was just a delight to walk.

I seldom get to use my snowshoes and heaven knows I certainly didn't need them today, but after Heather and I finished our walk together I headed over to Francis Park with snowshoes in hand.

My, what big feet I have.

It was going to be one of those days where it snowed all day long.

The leaves on the ground are still visible poking up through the snow.

Bigfoot's tracks.

I meandered throughout the park stopping occasionally to take a photo.

Eventually I came upon an area where children were sliding down a small hill. As I was watching the children play a car came up and parked near where I was standing. A man and his daughter were got out of the car. She had a saucer to slide down the hill. The man and I chatted. Come to find out they were visiting from Sydney, Australia. They'd never been in snow before. I asked him if he'd take my picture. So there you have it: A man from Australia taking the picture of a man snowshoeing in St. Louis, Missouri on Christmas Eve Day. I wonder how often that has happened.

Proof of the existence of Bigfoot

Bob walking down the hill to join his daughter. She is admiring the rather large snowman.

I continued on my way, crisscrossing the park and taking more photos.

Notice that the leaves aren't showing anymore.

Darkness descended but I was reluctant to call it a day. Alas, all good things seem to have to come to an end. So one more picture.

Every year they set up a tree in Francis Park and decorate it with white lights. Eventually there will be a live tree that will have this honor, but it is not large enough yet. If you look closely you can see the candidate tree standing behind the tree of lights.

At the edge of the Park I took off my snowshoes and headed home. I was surprised to discover how much more difficult it was to walk on the snow covered sidewalk than it had been walking on the snow in the park. I guess the snowshoes ended up not being superfluous after all.

When I got home Billie volunteered to watch over my snowshoes and poles.

It is definitely going to be a White Christmas here in the Heartland. May all your blessings be obvious during this wondrous Season and may all your Christmases be merry!