Winter Roads! (or why I have studded tires)

[LI-ghtcycle]

Today was one of the first days that it really became apparent why I have studded tires!

There was freezing fog at 28 F, and most of the road was covered with frost. By the time I was able to go out and take pictures much of it had melted, but here is what I was able to take pics of:

Fog in the field across the road

If you look closely you can see how the bike lane is all frosty from lack of use, and the road is clear from cars rolling over it

And here are some pics I took last week of the park I go through, this wasn't quite as cold a day but the foot bridge in the park was really slippery.

Also you can see frost on the ground as well as moss and roots blistering the pavement.

Still breaking in my studs, and soon I will take pics with them on the bike too!

Gotta wait for the Post Office to get their heads out, they shipped my Power Supply from CA to MN instead of directly to me in OR!

And they wonder why tax payers (their bosses) want to clean house and have them sell off to a private company that won't loose items and otherwise screw things up! :lol:

 

[neptronix]

That doesn't look too bad. It was about 10 degrees today in Colorado springs with about 20 times more frost than you have on the roads, literally a thin layer of ice with snow on top. I can get around on that with regular mountain bike tires if i keep it around 10-20mph.

I don't remember there ever being ice on the roads, but i did live in beaverton for 2 years.. you are a bit more east..

As for what you're talking about, the USPS is being choked by our govt and the problems you are seeing are a result of congress choking them until they die and have to become privatized. Here is their side of the story:

http://postandparcel.info/40922/news/inflation-based-us-postal-price-cap-showing-signs-of-strain/

The USPS is losing about $8.3bn a year at the moment, partly thanks to Congressionally-imposed requirements to pre-fund future retiree benefits, requirements that are projected to amount to 15% of USPS annual revenues by 2016.

“If the Postal Service didn’t have a $5.5bn bogey hanging around its neck, Congress allowed the Postal Service to adjust days to deliver in accordance with actual marketplace need, if Congress would keep away from the Postal Service when it tries to consolidate post offices, there would be more than sufficient available revenue there to still be abel to live within an inflation-based cap.”

Also, Fedex and UPS have stated that they won't deliver postal mail at anywhere near the rates that the USPS is forced to deliver mail at, because they would lose money..

Gee, why is our postal service failing?

So our government has one hand on USPS's neck choking it as hard as 1 hand can.. the other hand is putting money in it's pocket to bail it out. Maybe you are right that it should be privatized, but... you can thank our corrupt 2 party system for this situation which results in crappy mail and internation package delivery... :|

 

[biohazardman]

Frost on the bike path or road no problem most of the time, frost on the wood or moss watch out. Only went down once in the snow and ice. A block after passing a slow moving car I got stopped by a red light. Gave it throttle, when the light turned green, and the bike was on the pavement so fast I didn't know what happened. If it gets too bad I pedal the old Trek Y-bike as it weighs less and I go slower. You on the other hand are set up for most anything we have around here now. Enjoy.

 

[LI-ghtcycle]

That doesn't look too bad. It was about 10 degrees today in Colorado springs with about 20 times more frost than you have on the roads, literally a thin layer of ice with snow on top. I can get around on that with regular mountain bike tires if i keep it around 10-20mph.

I don't remember there ever being ice on the roads, but i did live in beaverton for 2 years.. you are a bit more east..

As for what you're talking about, the USPS is being choked by our govt and the problems you are seeing are a result of congress choking them until they die and have to become privatized. Here is their side of the story:

http://postandparcel.info/40922/news/inflation-based-us-postal-price-cap-showing-signs-of-strain/

The USPS is losing about $8.3bn a year at the moment, partly thanks to Congressionally-imposed requirements to pre-fund future retiree benefits, requirements that are projected to amount to 15% of USPS annual revenues by 2016.

“If the Postal Service didn’t have a $5.5bn bogey hanging around its neck, Congress allowed the Postal Service to adjust days to deliver in accordance with actual marketplace need, if Congress would keep away from the Postal Service when it tries to consolidate post offices, there would be more than sufficient available revenue there to still be abel to live within an inflation-based cap.”

Also, Fedex and UPS have stated that they won't deliver postal mail at anywhere near the rates that the USPS is forced to deliver mail at, because they would lose money..

Gee, why is our postal service failing?

So our government has one hand on USPS's neck choking it as hard as 1 hand can.. the other hand is putting money in it's pocket to bail it out. Maybe you are right that it should be privatized, but... you can thank our corrupt 2 party system for this situation which results in crappy mail and internation package delivery... :|

I wouldn't doubt it at all, it's crazy the two mindedness of our government practices with such organizations such as the post office, and I have a good friend who is a mail carrier, so I don't hate the USPS, however, I have NEVER once had anywhere near this kind of problem with UPS or FED-EX and I have in the past paid the highest price for safe delivery of my Anti-Backflow Device test kit (Mid-West 830) sent from Montana to Seattle to have it re-certified so that I could continue to run my BAT business, and they LOST it for over a MONTH!!!

Thank God I had bought insurance to replace it (they cost around $900 new) and they did give me the "used value" around $500 for it long after I had lost tons business because I could not test for them (these companies are required to have this done annually or they have their water turned off) due to their stupidity, so yeah, I have an axe to grind, but in the end, I pay less out of pocket, but how much are we really paying for that cheap shipping when our taxes are propping up a failed business model?

The really ironic thing is not long after refunding the "used value" (they only actually give you about %80 of what they declare as the value of the item) of my test kit, about 2 weeks later it showed up, so it really didn't pay for half of the lost business, but they did eventually get it to me. :lol:

I guess you really get what you pay for, and I probably should have asked for UPS to deliver it for me to make sure it got to my door in a reasonable amount of time.

I called them up today and asked them what they could do for me, and they just said "I am sure it will be re-directed to you today" and "I am sure the Saint Paul distribution center will realize the mistake" so in other words, he was taking NO active roll in making sure this happened, just telling me "the check is in the mail" more or less and if I don't see it at my door tomorrow, I will just start insisting I get things mailed with UPS or FED-EX.

Time is more precious than the $2 - $3 less paid for USPS VS a dependable service like UPS or FED-EX.

 

[LI-ghtcycle]

Frost on the bike path or road no problem most of the time, frost on the wood or moss watch out. Only went down once in the snow and ice. A block after passing a slow moving car I got stopped by a red light. Gave it throttle, when the light turned green, and the bike was on the pavement so fast I din't know what happened. If it gets too bad I pedal the old Trek Y-bike as it weighs less and I go slower. You on the other hand are set up for most anything we have around here now. Enjoy.

Ouch! I can imagine how that felt, never had it happen on a bicycle that I can remember, but I did have a motorcycle do the same thing, I caught it just before it fell completely over, but it still went down hard and fast enough for the brake pedal to be smashed into the side cover and make a nice hole! :lol:

I'm wishing we did get some snow to speak of so I would have more traction and be less likely to hit hidden black/glare ice and wake up on the ground.

I'm eventually going to set up a pretty standard hub-motor "beater" E-Bike with a Trek Frame I have laying around, but until then, just going to be extra careful and watch for leaves and such as they are the bigger potential accident waiting to happen, at least I can see them before I hit them! :wink:

 

[LI-ghtcycle]

That doesn't look too bad. It was about 10 degrees today in Colorado springs with about 20 times more frost than you have on the roads, literally a thin layer of ice with snow on top. I can get around on that with regular mountain bike tires if i keep it around 10-20mph.

I don't remember there ever being ice on the roads, but i did live in beaverton for 2 years.. you are a bit more east..

Yeah, the pictures don't really do it justice, it's not so much that it's super slick everywhere, but it's the hidden stuff that is slicker than you think, or is until it heats up later in the day, but that isn't much help if you have to commute in the morning. :wink:

Can't really tell you boss "sorry I had to come in 2 hours late today, too much frost on the ground!"

I envy you Nep, I wish we got real snow like we did in 2008 and then I would just need a few studs here and there in some old MTB tires (home brew with steel brads since we never really get Ice that lasts more than a week if that) and be fine.

I haven't really slipped bad yet this year, just some mud that I hit accidentally cutting a corner in the part too close, and that's operator error! :lol:

I really love my studs so far, they are well suited to my use here in Oregon, however, the real solution some days will be to take the buss going and ride home when you have more time, but I like to push the limits!