Modern Vespa

Dear Modern Vespa,

I would like to apologize for the weather that is currently taking place. I am firmly convinced that it is all my fault. I should never have bought a scooter thinking I would be able to ride it through the winter except when the roads were snow covered.

The fact that the roads have been snowy and icy during most days since the middle of November is surely to punish me for my huberis.

Please forgive me,

Charles R. Kaiser

Yes, you are very hubristic to think you did it all yourself. I also bot a nice little GTV250 with intentions of just parking it on the side of the house so it would be handy and I could ride on all but the coldest and snowyest days in Jan and Feb. The only part of that working is the part where I put it at the side of the house. Then I connected the battery tender. And yesterday was the first day above freezing in a long time.


And I'll bet WE aren't the only ones.

Oh, good! I was afraid it was my fault. I took delivery of my LX150 on December 7. We had our first snow storm (followed by ice) on Dec 8. We have had more snow/ice in this December than we did all of last year, maybe the last two winters.

But then it got warm the last two days -- hit 70 today -- and I had a great ride. So I think I'm off the hook, and it's really all your fault But since you've accepted responsibility, I think you should be forgiven. And hopefully some of the milder weather we've had here lately will come your way.

Xine

By the way, CRK, I see that you are only 150 km from Lakehouse near Vineland. If you ever get another dry and sunny day that would be a nice ride and the food is worth it.

My wife and I have driven by that place dozens of times on our way to and from crossing the broader into the States. I'll have to make a point of stopping sometime.

The roads had just gotten to the point where I felt it would be safe to ride again on Thursday and it had warmed to above freezing. Now we are in the midst of a fairly major ice storm.

We always make a point of going there when we're in that neck of the woods. It seems to keep getting better.

I think today is the middle of a three day stretch of above freezing, then the plummet on Tuesday.

Well I am very glad that some people are now just maybe considering that there might be just a smidgen of a little bit of a very slight chance that the weather might not be one-hundred percent absolutely without a hint of any uncertainty, completely my fault.

You see, I explore for oil and gas, and have discovered some over the years, and so, have been subsequently blamed for any warm weather whatsoever.

No, wait... Scratch all that. Now I am blamed for any change in the climate, whatsoever.

Okay, Charles. Blame me.

i'm not sure who to blame but last year at this time I was riding, not now, it just sucks


larry

Well then I'll try to discover some oil here real quick.

Dude...you live in Ontario, Canada. If you expected anything but Snow and Ice, you have bigger issues than annoying a bunch of us here.

Sure, we get snow and ice, but I can't ever recall and entire month and a half of snow every other day. Especially with the winters we have had in the past few years.

Two years ago I bought two large bags of ice melter. At the beginning of November of this year, we still had a half of one of those bags left. We have now already gone through that plus two additional bags of ice melter.

In a normal winter we would have several days or weeks of roads clear enough to ride on. But this year just as soon as the roads are clear, we get hit with another storm.

[quote="ckaiserca"] I guess I just assumed that the "Great White North" was usually the "white" bit. I have a friend up in Port Perry and he gripes about winter from October through May.

What's up with the little MV toaster?

A few folks around here have a toaster. I'm sure the others are more deserving than I. The story of how I got mine can be found in [SSR] Someone Stole Brenna's Scooter (Page 3).

There is one MV'er who has a golden toaster. The Jim Hamilton Golden Toaster Award. There are also icons for folks who have completed Ironbutt rides, and at least one person who has a couple of rolls of toilet paper.

that works

I am on the same boat
I shall be brave and ride on the snow tomorrow
Five inches

You have to admire the unbridled optimism of a Canadian that buys a scooter with the intention of doing a lot of riding in the winter.

Who knows, if this global warming thing turns out to be real, your optimism may be vindicated!

Charles, Think about how winters are and you'll realize you'll get your chance.
Five winters of planning our move to MN, from Las Vegas, were filled with weekend thaws and short spurts of 45-50F in MN. At least 10 scattered days where the streets were perfectly clear and nearly 50. At least 20 days of clear streets with temperatures in the teens. The first two years after the move were some of the heaviest snowfalls and overall amounts. But intrepid northerners will eventually get their chance, just don't make book on when. I stay at the ready every winter now. The one I threw the towel in on turned into some possibly good rides. I don't wrench in a cold unheated garage. The snow here is every few days, a damn inch or two. Just enough to screw the pooch.

We have just a little bit of ice storm still going on here:

Every time I think I'll be able to take a scoot out in Breckenridge during the winter it snows so I know how you feel. Heck, sometimes it will be perfectly clear in town and at our house but I still can't take the scoot into town because there is one stretch on the only way between the two that gets no direct sun from November until sometime in late March. Last January I was starting to see enough pavement in that section that I was thinking tomorrow I can take the scoot out for a ride with a big grin. Woke up in the morning to blowing snow and temps of 9f. Shouldn't have allowed the thought to surface.

Illinois doesn't get it quite as bad as many of you, but I still end up putting the bike away most of December through February or March. My personal rule of thumb is that I won't ride on ice, snow, or when either of those conditions could develop. The other thing is that our roads get liberally coated with salt, so much so that much of the pavement turns white and feels like it's covered with gravel.

I know much of our bikes are plastic, but the salted roads are still bad for them, aren't they?

Mark