Motorcycle tire chains...

 

....are a helluvalot more useful when they aren't sitting in your
garage, 7 miles from the office in a snow storm.

I left the office at 10pm last night.  When I last looked out the
window an hour earlier, all was clear.  By the time I left, the roads
were covered with a base of ice and a layer of dry snow on top.  As an
added bonus, the wind was gusting.  Nobody was at home to mobilize a
rescue operation, so I decided to go for it.

After losing the front end in a traffic circle (Ka-THUNK), I pulled up
on the sidewalk to air down to about 6psi in both tires.  That helped
quite a bit.  While on the sidewalks, I discovered the traction was
much better than in the streets, where traffic had packed everything
into ice.

15mph in second gear the rest of the way home.  I pulled over
periodically to let some light traffic by.  During one pull-over, some
folks in a VW bug pulled over to ask if I was OK.   All sorts of witty
quips come to mind now.

For the length of one block there is a vacant lot I've been riding by
for 20 years.  There is a very tempting trail running parallel to the
road.  I've always wanted to ride it, and couldn't think of a better
time.  Traction was great!  I was wishing that I had a non-paved route
all the way home.

What is normally a 15 minute commute took almost an hour.   This would
have been a non-deal with my tire chains.   They are going into the
tail bag of the bike, where they will stay until spring.

-Jeff-

 

In article


Wow, glad you made it in one piece. No damage from the ka-THUNK I
hope. You could also keep a sleeping bag and a jet-boil in your office
and spend the night there, pretending you're on the eastern section of
the TAT...

(hmmm, I think I've been spending WAY too much time on advrider.)

--
Charles
'99 YZ250

 


Home-made?

If I have to go another whole winter without a ride I'll go nuts...


Dave

 



Yes, home-made.  Here is on of the threads on tire chains:

http://www.advrider.com/forums/showthread.php?t=296207

I stocked up on tire chains from ebay a couple years ago.  Boxes &
boxes of chains in the garage.  We just need a roundtuit to get built
up for Paula.

-Jeff-

 


I don't have boxes and boxes of tire chains, only 2 boxes of 'em.

Thx-

Dave