It was a dark and foggy morning

When I left work this morning it was still dark and I could see the constellation Orion the Hunter hovering above me, standing on his head. The air was chilly, in the mid 30s, but wasn't cold, at least not to me. I was dressed appropriately as you might have guessed.

By the time I passed by the Highway 212 exit I entered fog. It smelled odd, as if it was mixed with wood stove smoke and a faint hint of baked bread. The mist swirled around me and blended with the light from my headlights and those of oncoming cars and I had the strange feeling I was in a music video or an episode of The Twilight Zone. It was enough fog to make the ride interesting but not enough to hamper visibility.

By the time I got to work my pant legs and jacket arms were wet from the mist, but I was still warm inside my gear and smiling as I unlocked the front office door to start my work day.

Chilly, foggy rides

[caption id="attachment_719" align="alignright" width="327" caption="Weather.gov calls it 'ice fog'"][/caption]

It's been cold the past few mornings as I rode into work. Yesterday and today were both foggy and below freezing. If you travel through it long enough, the fog freezes on the surfaces of your bike, face shield, and even on your gloves and jacket. The road surface was fairly dry, although it had a nice shine to it in my neighborhood as I first headed out. I took my time and rode cautiously, as as if it were raining (which it did three days ago).

In addition to the freezing fog, the stock battery on my 2007 V-Strom was finally due to be replaced. It served me well, 35,000 miles over 4 years (my bike's 4th birthday is a week from today) which is better than normal. I swung over to Yamaha Sports Plaza in Fairview, OR on my way home yesterday and bought a new gel battery for $87, then Steve, the service manager, installed it for me right there, free of charge. They not only sell Suzuki parts but their service techs are fully qualified and experienced Suzuki wrench-heads, some of whom worked for Action Motor Sports, the previous dealership where I bought my bike four years ago (in the same location). Although they didn't have a lot of people browsing the shiny new bikes in the showroom, Steve told me they are third in the world for Yamaha parts on-line. Way to go!

It was a dark and foggy night

Morning, actually. It was a dark and foggy morning on my commute to work today. I usually arrive at work before 7am so it's still completely dark when I leave the house. It had rained pretty hard the previous day, and apparently through most of the night as well. The ground and pavement was wet and there was a thick fog hugging the ground.

What was interesting, however, was the sky. Despite the fog, looking up I could see stars. Orion was on his head to the south and I could see Venus descending toward the western horizon. Once I got rolling the ride was fantastic. Despite being dark, there was no rain or road spray and the fog swirled around me in the gleam of my headlights.

It was magical.

Cold and foggy

I've been busy most weekends so I haven't had much chance to ride in a recreational capacity. This time of year I tend to get most of my miles in while commuting to work. This morning was cold and foggy and I had a fair bit of moisture on the windshield by the time I got to work. It was dark when I left the house, too. For some reason I enjoy riding in the dark.

Rider in the mist

It rained yesterday. During the night the clouds disipated and the temperature dropped to the low 30's, so there was fog and mist about when I rode into work this morning. The bike and my gear was wet when I arrived, as if I had ridden through a brief rain shower.

I love days like this.

Frozen fog? No worries!

I rode to work today even though we had freezing fog overnight. We've had freezing fog the last several nights in a row. The streets in my neighborhood had a dusty shine to them when I left home this morning on my way to work, and I could feel the slipperyness when I accelerated. But I took it slowly and got out onto the highway without any problem.

It was in the upper 20's at my house and the moisture in the air made it feel very chilly. My gear worked very well, however, keeping me comfortable. I've ridden in temps as low as 25, but this morning did feel the coldest of all my rides so far.