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It took me nearly two hours to get home tonight (8 miles) due to the snow. It looks like the ridgeway hill between Weymouth and Dorchester is blocked, so I had to do a detour on ungritted roads - not nice, nearly ran into a ditch at one point. I also seem to have done something to my ABS and have a warning light staying on, although the brakes still work, not that I use them much in snow if I can help it.
I'm not sure how much more of this weather I can take before I do my dormouse impression and hibernate until the sodding thing goes away. I am heartily sick of it, three bad winters in a row and each time the country comes to a complete bloody standstill. The queues of traffic trying to get to the ridgeway were easily a couple of miles each way. They could have a longer delay than I did. It also means no cycling for a few days, although I did see one idiot riding this evening.
Next person I hear singing White Christmas I am going to thump and hard.
Comments
Somebody Needs to Watch "It's a Wonderful Life"
Do you realize there are people in Bermuda who won't have any snow this Christmas? You should stop and consider what their lives are like . . . no ice, except in their drinks. Their cars only slip and slide when they've had one too many rum and cokes. Last weekend we were snowbound so my spouse and I cleaned the grout on our kitchen floor. See how much fun snow can be?
Merry F%*king Christmas!
Angela Rasch (Jill M I)
Angela Rasch (Jill M I)
SNO
Out this morning at 6am on the mtb on bloody ice, bike going sideways now and again, ice locking up the rear brake. Back after work in a blizzard of nasty wind-driven snow with the tyres working well on fresh snow, but so cold my nose tip was numb.
Not fun!
And there's more...
Heavy snow this morning, and just about to set off on the MTB again. May have to walk the odd part of it, but just call me Nanette...I mean Nanuk
Not to mention the shorts
Dorky Bermuda shorts- You could be wearing those while dodging a hurricane. My cousin runs a bank there. I keep thinking "Tiny Island, nothing but big ocean, big waves" Nope, rather be inside waiting for the snow to melt while drinking my hot buttered rum by the fireside.
Salt the roads, damn the environment.
In the late 60's I spent two fabulous years in Fairbanks, and there, people just learned to deal with it; just plowing and sanding. In Portland, Oregon, they mostly just have freezing rain for a day or so. Nobody does nuttin! Now here in Ohio, we have between 6" and 3' depending on where one travels, but living near the deepest Salt mine in the world, they just salt the roads very heavily. Now that is awful on cars, concrete, and the environment, but no one seems to talk about it. I just got home from a grocery expedition, and it took me 5 hours. Does no one stay home in bad weather? Yalla !!!
I am sorry that you had such an awful time Angharad.
Much peace
Khadijah
Hmmm...
D'ya know, Angharad, I think you should stop vacillating and tell us how you really feel. (lol/vbg)
In all seriousness though, it's good to hear that you're safe.
As I write this, it's about 10:30 on Saturday morning. The temperature is a little over 20°C/68°F (about one degree higher than the overnight low), but at least the muggy humidity of the past few days has gone, thanks to the torrential showers and the thunderstorm from earlier in the day. It was looking like we were having a drought, but I think we can forget about that now, for a few weeks at least.
The next time you're feeling SAD, consider having a holiday somewhere brighter and warmer. If it wasn't so far, and you weren't so disparaging about our agricultural exports, I'd suggest this small South Pacific paradise, just a little east of Aussie.
Positively Summery
Bike Resources
Bike Resources
Snow?
Over here we had about 1cm that fell in about ¼ hr this morning, and absolutely nothing since. I hear they had a more substantial amount in Rugby, and other bits of the Midlands (Staffs, Stoke, "Southern Areas") may have heavy snow tomorrow; but here it's just "light snow at times", which probably won't come to much.
Just as well really, as I need to get a garage to look at my car - the rod between the driver's door handle and the catch has gone, meaning I can only open the driver's door from the inside (and I'm wary of that as even when the catch has released, the door is often ice-welded to the frame, so I have to give it a hard push while hoping it doesn't ruin the connection between the inside handle and catch!); and I had to jump start it earlier in the week (from one of those gadgets with a battery of their own that you plug into the lighter/accessory socket and wait 10 mins while it partially charges the car's battery) so I could do with them giving a health check to my battery.
There are 10 kinds of people in the world - those who understand binary and those who don't...
As the right side of the brain controls the left side of the body, then only left-handers are in their right mind!
The best laid plans...
So much for getting my car fixed today - I awoke to steady continuous snowfall, still continuing as of now (10:45am) and outside temperatures of -2°C.
I don't think it's suitable weather for fiddling around with door handles.
Meanwhile, perhaps the ultimate proof of how obsessed we Brits are with the white stuff is the UK Snow Map, a (Twitter) crowd sourced map of where it's currently snowing, how hard (on a 0-10 scale) and in some cases, how deep and/or with photos... http://www.uksnowmap.com/
There are 10 kinds of people in the world - those who understand binary and those who don't...
As the right side of the brain controls the left side of the body, then only left-handers are in their right mind!
Doors ice welded shut
Used to live in England (Portsmouth)but moved to North Dakota USA 12 years ago.
Snow this year first fell in mid October (three day storm 18")snow is scheduled to stay around until late March or so, and the temperature hasn't been about freezing point in weeks. This doesn't seem to affect the traffic too much, although we do have people who think that they can treat icy roads as dry ones
However I digress. Solution to door problem, having got the door open spray the rubber seals with either WD40 or a dry silicone spray. Either of which will prevent the moisure from freezing the doors shut.
Hope this helps, as for the brakes probably nothing more than snow or ice on the sensor.
Spike
No not our adored furry friend.
When I worked in Finland, I was amazed by the number of guys cycling aroung in mid winter with only snow and ice underfoot. Then one day I had to take a friends bike to the doctor and all was revealed. Their bike tyres have little itty bitty spikes, like the bigger things the cars use, and they just change tyres when the white stuff goes.
So I suggest you Brit Cyclists see about getting some of those tyres over here to make your life safer.
A's news of more stuff comming does not bode well for my daughters trip to her new MIL tomorrow night(Croyden). I hope they decide to stay home and check out the duvet.
Snow Tires for Bikes
AKA Studded bicycle tires are fairly widely available online, perhaps not locally if one lives in Arizona or Texas.
Here's one variety.
Mind you, cycling on a motorway with great iron behemoths hurtling by -- likely to spin out at random intervals and places -- is not conducive to long life and good repair of one's limbs and brains. Best stick to isolated bike paths.
Cheers,
Puddin'
A tender heart is an asset to an editor: it helps us be ruthless in a tactful way.
--- The Chicago Manual of Style
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Cheers,
Puddin'
A tender heart is an asset to an editor: it helps us be ruthless in a tactful way.
--- The Chicago Manual of Style
Traffic
Just got back in after a careful ride (it is one AM here and minus six C). I stopped at the side of the road to step off and wade through the snow to my path,and heard a loud horn. A Network Rail works truck had been forced to stop, because as he prepared to overtake me sensibly, he was himself overtaken, at speed, by two successive cars. Both taxis, of course.
Check it out.
Check it out Angharad. It was beautiful when I got out of bed this morning.
Here was the view from my dining room window. Beautiful!!
(But then, I can say that, I'm retired and don't have to go to work. -Tee-hee!)
However I did have to go out in the Tranny and that was a couple of miles up the valley so you get a bit of sympathy.
If you want any more you'll have to look between s--t and s-------s in the dictionary.
Nice day for it.
Beverly.
Growing old disgracefully.
Rain
We've got rain here and forecast rain through Boxing Day with maybe a break on CEE. It's snowing on the mountains so it's good for tourism except the bloody skiers have to drive through the rain to get to the slopes and these are Angelenos, etc. who see rain maybe six times a year and have no more idea what to do about it than a hog on ice. (A hog on ice is a free and independent spirit, he can stand up or lie down because he isn't going anywhere.)
It feels cold enough to snow, it's between 40 and 50F outside (5-10C about) with a mild windchill. But as long as it keeps raining, it will keep it warm enough to not snow down here. Good enough, Cuddles and I are warm and comfortable with hot chocolate and pie for me, and carrot sticks for her.
Hugs,
Erin
= Give everyone the benefit of the doubt because certainty is a fragile thing that can be shattered by one overlooked fact.
= Give everyone the benefit of the doubt because certainty is a fragile thing that can be shattered by one overlooked fact.
I suppose this means, no "Bike" tonight. :(
Don't worry, we all understand your plight.
Now, please go take a hot bath with some of the smelly stuff, and eat a pint of icecream whilst your in the tub. Yummmmm
Khaduuj
Snow? What snow?
Greetings
Just checked outside and the ground is white. Well almost white, there isn't a full covering. However, I wasn't impressed by the possibility of snow on roads, so had walked to work. Glad it is only a short distance.
I'll check out if there is a Bluegrass version of White Christmas.
Brian
edited for stupidity...
edited for stupidity...
I'm in Houston, Texas. Snow
I'm in Houston, Texas. Snow is an almost unheard of event.
"So, what's that?" "It's like hail, but softer." "Soft hail? Are you NUTS?"
the ABS light might be as simple as something jammed in the sensor due to the cold. If you can put your car into a heated garage overnight, that may take care of it. Otherwise, a carwash that has heated water might do it.
I'll get a life when it's proven and substantiated to be better than what I'm currently experiencing.
It's better than Oobleck
Got six or seven inches of wet snow yesterday and went on a coffee-fueled snow shovelling frenzy; serenaded by the heavy artillery they use at nearby Tahoe to knock the snow off the more vertical mountain faces before it accumulated into avalanch hazards. First time I've heard that in a year, and you know it's a heavy snowfall when you do. Shovelled my little path to the mailbox and then the old man next door's whole long driveway, taking a break at mid-point to have a heart attack.
Then somehow last night the snow turned to rain (which had hardly seemed likely here in December at 4000 feet up the Sierra) and the rest of the white stuff got washed away, so my efforts were basically pointless. I don't like the snow much at all but I inherited this property and love not paying rent, so I put up with it, knowing that snow now means water to drink next summer. And oh well, snow is better than Oobleck.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bartholomew_and_the_Oobleck
~~~hugs, Veronica
And remember...
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ifLqzLEB3E0
Snowfall predictions
Didn't I see that the Sierras are expected to get something like 10-15 feet of snow over the next few days? I shudder at dealing with that. So far, here in central VT we only have a few inches on the ground - 'tho the hills have more.
I always laugh when folks from the north country scoff at the those in more temperate climes when they are shut down by a "small" storm. It's all about what you are used to. So, to you all in the UK: I hope that you get through this latest storm OK.
Jamie
Here in sunny Cheshire, England
and it was sunny today. But don't step outside the door 'cos it's effing cold and covered in slippery white stuff.
Oop North it's really thick... and so's the snow.
I'm not 'Dreaming of a White Christmas'; if this keeps up for one more week, it's guaranteed.
"I'm Dreaming of a White Easter"....
Susie
What ever happened...
What ever happened to that global warming thing? It seems to have been stalled for the past several years. At this rate, we'll never get to enjoy the balmy temperatures that our ancestors enjoyed in the middle ages. The little ice age messed everything up. ;-)
Global warming
Think of it not as a nice gentle warmth creeping into everything, but as more energy going into two fluid systems (ocean and atmosphere). The result is more turbulence, more change, and particularly more extreme weather. The better term is climate change. Have a look at a map, and compare the latitude of, say, London with Calgary. Or Madrid with New York. Then imagine what would happen if that nice warm flow coming across the Atlantic and keeping Europe toastier in Winter than the two American places were to switch off, or move South, or stop altogether.
Global Climate Change
is caused by global warming, but the circulation of the atmosphere is driven by heat, so extra heat changes the patterns of airflow over the entire surface of the Earth. This can cause local changes, such as (for example) causing arctic flows that used to sweep across Finland to head south, causing local cold weather despite global increase in temperatures. It can also cause the dry subtropical winds that create continental deserts -- like the Sahara in Africa -- to move elsewhere, which I'm sure would please the inhabitants of Ethiopia and Northern Mexico, but might be hard on the Italians and Kansans.
The circulation of the oceans is also driven by the same heat, and ocean temperatures are rising along with atmospheric temperatures, which can change the flow of ocean currents. These currents modify local atmospheres, especially in places near coasts, so changes can be especially bothersome. There have been times in Earth's past when the circulation of the oceans appears to have ceased, causing the oceans to freeze over from the Arctic to the Equator, a lengthy period known humourously as "Snowball (or Iceball) Earth." This makes intercontinental travel very easy, since one might be able to walk across the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans, but is rather hard on the shipping industry. It also makes it very difficult to grow or otherwise obtain food, since ice reflects heat rather nicely and can lead to continental glaciation as well.
It's nice to be alive in "interesting times."
Cheers,
Puddin'
A tender heart is an asset to an editor: it helps us be ruthless in a tactful way.
--- The Chicago Manual of Style
-
Cheers,
Puddin'
A tender heart is an asset to an editor: it helps us be ruthless in a tactful way.
--- The Chicago Manual of Style