Winter Again!

Winter has hit mid-Michigan early this year. Obviously not as a
result of global warming, but perhaps it's as a result of global
climate change. Or maybe it's just the weather cycle doing its thing.
I can remember winters in Michigan when I was kid that seemed more
severe than we've had in the last 20 years.

In any case, the snow and ice make it necessary for me to pull out
the slushmobile for my daily commute. But that's OK. I'd never want
to ride it across the country, but for riding five miles through snow
and slush, over slick ice and crusty ice ridges, it's pretty fun. I
put a big Wald basket on the back, so it can carry a big load. I
added a brake enhancer to make the road lever work better with the
canti-brakes. I added an old retro generator and light that I had
lying around for a little supplemental "hey! here I am!" lighting. I
have been riding to work on Tuesdays and Thursdays at 6:00 am, and
home on Wednesdays at 9:00 pm, so I've needed the lights (which also
include a battery powered halogen front light and two LED blinkies on
the back).

The huge Wald fenders do a great job keeping the snow and slush off
me, and because they are quite high above the tires, snow and slush
doesn't collect very much under the fenders or in the brakes.

By the end of last winter I was pretty tired of riding over ice ruts
and through cut up snowplow detritus, but so far it's OK.