As I hinted in my last post, we finally have winter in Minnesota. It snowed several inches and is now in the single digits. When it was time to leave for work, I emailed my boss to let him know I would be late. I needed some playtime in the snow. I took the long way through the neighborhoods, in parks, and around lakes (they aren’t frozen enough yet to ride on). The Ural is very fun in the snow.
The snow let me test out my new Duro HF307 tires. I am disappointed with them compared to the Heidenau K37 Snowtex. I will buy the K37 snowtex next time. The rear slid a bit more than I would like with the Duro, and it had much less traction on ice and hard packed snow. It made me wish I could put studs on, but MN law prohibits studs on the road. Luckily, I have 2WD. I understand now why the HF307 is a third of the price of the K37 snowtex. I had really hoped they would be better though. This is my fifth winter tire, and I would put it in the middle of the pack.
On the upside, the Duros are quite fun for donuts and other sideways sliding shenanigans.
Below, is a behind the scenes photo my GoPro captured while I was taking the above photo. I had it set to take phone photo every few minutes, and the timing worked out to capture me taking a photo. Funny.
You have a cold start to your winter riding. My bike has been parked in the garage for a week already. I had hoped to get it out one last time this year. The first year I got my Venture I was able to ride all the way into the second week in December. Between repair needs and the weather I have not recreated this event since.
ReplyDeleteIndeed. It says -9F out right now. A couple years ago was great. I was able to ride my SV almost to xmas, and then again in late january. looking around the country almost everyone from oregon to southern TX got some snow this week. no easy escape from winter this time.
DeleteIs Uraling in the snow anything like wassailing in the snow? I know I'd be singing in my helmet.
DeleteI was hoping to see you tearing it up on the WR250R too.
It is very unlikely I will be putting the WR250R on the street in winter. I am not interested in sacrificing another bike to the salt and chemicals they put on the roads. I'd love to play with it on a lake or somewhere else offroad, but getting it there is a problem.
DeleteNice photos (and video!). And the "behind the scenes" shot is a nice addition. Have you made any of the time lapse while riding GoPro shots into a video? I think I remember a sunset one.
ReplyDeleteThanks. I have made several timelapse videos some with the gopro and some with my canon. Why make a timelapse from the photos every few minutes when i am simultaneously recording video??
Deletethe new gopros can record video while taking a still every now and then. the still is nice for blog posts and higher quality than pulling a frame out of the video.
I was thinking time lapse instead of video. Maybe 1 frame per second.
Deleteooh, I see. yea, I've done that a couple times: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=byGIK0X1Xm8
DeleteIt's actually easier to just film video and then speed it up. The battery dies long before I run out of storage.
Love that second photo. The Ural is so photogenic especially in the snow.
ReplyDeleteSo does the GoPro pic count as a selfie? :-)
the ural does look great in the snow.
DeleteFrom the weather reports and the whining I hear from friends in MN, it sounds like this winter will put your Everyday Riding credential to a severe test. I am not man enough to ride anything without a heater at -25F. I'm happy to admit it, too.
ReplyDeleteYup, lots of below zero days this winter. I haven't skipped any of them yet for being too cold. -23f if my new record. If I was less lazy, I'd post the video I captured.
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