Birds Eye

Frozen Flesh in Just 1-hour


It was a record that would have gone unremarked; minus 3-degrees. I pulled over at the Pheasant Plucker in Farringdon to take a photo of the temperature gauge but was dismayed to see only a minus 2; common place this week and not worth a photo where I'd just ridden 6 miles at -3! I tried again at my spot in East Tistead; that's the shot below.

Minus 3-degrees and dropping...

The screen was frozen; my visor was frozen inside and out but I was still pretty well okay. I've thrown caution to the wind in saving electricity and turn the heated grips up until my palms near scald through the Richo leather gloves - still performing okay WITH the heated grips. It stops my finger ends from dropping off.

Frozen screen - not that it mattered this week - it's been clogged with Badger pooh since Monday

The visor is a pain though - anything below 0-degrees and my breath starts to mist up the lower portion of my vision - on a Pan, that's the mirrors. Then, when I put the visor up at half way at the lights I have this circle of frozen breath blocking my centre vision - it makes you boss-eyed just thinking about it, honestly.

Worst of all though; worse still than having the rear jitter at the roundabouts in Frimley and Farnham, was having a frozen saddle. Cracking the ice less my crack gets iced leaves the vinyl still cold and it sucks the heat from my core. A heated seat is £££; so's an Aston Martin and I dream of owning both with equal vigour.

Frozen throne

So frozen within an hour like a Birds Eye pea - that's me this week. But, it's not been all about the cold. The filth splattering over all 4-dimensions of Shadowfax has been unreal! I washed him down on Tuesday as my baby daughter was poorly with suspected Hand, Foot and Mouth and I'd had all I could take of watching her sleep - even with the vomit bowl over her head.

Sick baby sleeping

By Tuesday lunchtime Shadowfax looked like he'd taken a spill in a ploughed field.

So, it's been cold, dirty, wet, slippery, and snivelly this week and that's just my nose. I'm beginning to understand why some bikers put their bikes away for winter and hide in the car...but it comes down to range really. My hands don't get cold instantly; nor does my neck or other part. It gets cold over time - about 25 to 28 miles. It's not the Winter that is difficult yet, it's the riding 50-miles each way in the Winter that is challenging. It's all about stamina, longevity, and sticking it out for the long haul.

Bring it on Jack, m'boy. Bring it on. All I see is your sugar-frosting adorning what is already a beautiful vista to be seen over every hedge along my way. You make every trip just a little special; and if you're not available then the Sun, or Moon make every snotty mile entirely worth my while. Nature's wonderful. Perhaps now I appreciate Winter we could move along to Spring? (Please?)

Just for the record

Oh, yeah. Minus 4-degrees. I didn't stop for a piccie, though as my tadger was near frozen.

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Picking up Sherbert

Image
To recap, we'd been awake and travelling to Offenburg, Germany since 2:30 am. Bikemoto's offer of a free coffee felt overwhelmingly generous while we waited for Sherbert's paperwork to be readied. There was a hire agreement to cover our ride back to Ireland, the ownership documentation, Certificate of Compliance, manuals, sales agreements, and more. It all took time. All the time I was taking stock of the enormity of the day and second-guessing the plan. Self doubt I'd not ridden for nearly 5 years since fixing Arod's speedometer sensor and finding his fork seals were leaking. COVID 19 and working from home were little motivation to set things right. Now I am about to ride a new-to-me model of bike I've not ridden before. Sherbert is heavier than an ST1300, a weightier insurance liability, and has a dual clutch transmission (DCT). He's extra expensive to buy and more-so to fix. I'm riding on the right side of the road in Europe and with my wife rid
Read more

28 February - Jammed Screen Blues

Head Trauma The LHS winder for the screen is jammed. I’ve had the screen at a medium-high stetting for the cold and rain but this really gives some buffeting in some conditions – especially at speed on the M-ways. It was so bad on the way to Stoke I had to stop and hand-force the screen all the way down for some relief. It needs either another overhaul (gave it a good oiling when symptoms first appeared) or replacement, which is just so expensive. Even a knackered one from a ‘brakers seems to command an inflated £100+ tag. Daft greedy b’stards. Anyway – the jobs waiting for a quieter moment. Too much going on to rip the plastics off Shadowfax just now. We both have a job to do.
Read more

To Offenburg from beyond

Image
Offenburg is a couple of hours south of Frankfurt.  Initial plans were to fly to Frankfurt, catch a train to Offenburg, and then a taxi to the bike shop. Unfortunately, RyanAir fly to Frankfurt Hahn airport and don't hint at the fact Hahn is two hours west of Frankfurt. We discovered that gem after booking the flights. No plan survives first contact, right? So we adapted and hired a car to drive the 3 hours to Offenburg. Adapt or fail We learned that RyanAir will only allow helmets on spare seats–one helmet per seat by the read of it. Otherwise your life-saving equipment needs to go in the hold to be crushed, battered, and invisibly compromised by damage. Our new Shuberth C5s had arrived only a couple of days ahead of the flight in two smart boxes within a single purpose sized box. Mrs G called RyanAir and confirmed a 'suitcase' can be a box and what the maximum dimensions can be.  The box fitted the bill. Into Hahn Typically, the Friday flight out was at around 6am and w
Read more