Have you ever seen those awful coffee tables that you'll sometimes find in motels or restaurants down on the Redneck Riviera, the ones with the sand dollars and scallop shells lying entombed under an inch of lucite?
Yeah, well, that's what the alley and street look like around Roseholme Cottage, except with asphalt where the sand dollars should be and ice instead of lucite. The alley's even cooler looking, because although it's gravel under the ice, it looks paved right now thanks to its smooth coating of greased glass.
Of course the main thoroughfares are all salted and melted but the little side streets in Broad Ripple are big ol' skating rinks right now. One of the neighbor kids was walking his dog down the middle of the street, except he wasn't walking, he was... dog-skiing? He looked like a cross between a water skier and a one-man extremely minimalist Iditarod.
Anyhow, I think I'll be thankful there's all my shopping needs within an easy couple blocks walking distance and leave the rear-wheel-drive roadster with its summer tires in the garage.
That's about what my subdivision (and driveway) look like. I was joking around about taking the zamboni to work today.
ReplyDeleteI take it you are still looking at replacement vehicles? If you decide to keep the Z3 I suggest Blizzak snow tires. They will do amazing things.
ReplyDeleteIf you don't live on a major street, it won't be plowed but you'll notice the Monon Trail will be spotless.
ReplyDeleteugh.
BOHICA:
ReplyDeleteWe're supposed to get ~2 feet of snow. Starting at Rush Hour here in Chitown...
You guys'll be getting liek 50' fo'sho...
I took a road trip back in january '00, was driving the Tbird at the time and had just rolled into Minneapolis that morning and was an hour or so early for check-in, so I decided to roll around a bit and waste some time.
ReplyDelete(yes, this was the same trip where I discovered, at 70mph on I-35N, that some goober back home had filled my washer reservoir with plain water. Bad mojo at 15 degrees, especially when it's warm enough underhood to keep it fluid and pumping)
Anyhow, I drive into a neighborhood that hadn't been plowed yet, and decided that I's best not poke around where I could slide into immobile object. Instead of three-pointing out though, I edged into an intersection at about 5mph, pressed lightly in the brakes, and floored the gas with a little left wheel twitch. Fastest U-turn I've ever made :)
Captcha: butsanes. Hehehe...
BTW, that nut&bolt repaired Powerbook 520 you got form me came out of that trip, bought it face to face :)
ReplyDeleteC'mon, take the Z3 out, it'll be like a theme park thrill ride where you may die at the end.
ReplyDeleteMy wife was just in Indiana yesterday on business (down at Crane NWS, no less!), and what did Hertz rent her when she gets in, with an ice storm bearing down on her?
ReplyDeleteYup... a Ford Mustang. Just the thing to drive in an ice storm. Why they couldn't give that to her all the times she was out there in the spring, summer and fall she has no idea...
You should invest in a set of these: http://www.cabelas.com/cabelas/en/templates/pod/standard-pod-wrapped.jsp?_DARGS=/cabelas/en/common/catalog/pod-link.jsp_A&_DAV=MainCatcat20564-cat20588&rid=&indexId=cat20588&navAction=push&masterpathid=&navCount=1&parentType=index&parentId=cat20588&id=0051845 I have a pair and they are awesome!!! The studs can be replaced.
ReplyDeleteDarn it. The link doesn't work. Go to Cabela's website and search for "Due North Traction Aid"
ReplyDeleteDr. Strangegun,
ReplyDeleteThat's how I park my Ram (with Hemi) whenever it rains or snows. Pull up perpendicular to the spot (the back row is nearly always empty), nail the gas, slide the truck in perfectly...
You're only young once, but you can be immature forever...
Welcome to the harsh beauty of the North. It's not for the weak, but you get good Service.
ReplyDeletehttp://ingeb.org/songs/therewhe.html
That dog trick is called skijoring, and it's real popular just a little farther up. Make history: try it with cats.
Orange,
ReplyDeleteThis link should work.
They look cool. Could have used them yesterday, that's for sure!
Being from the gloriously ice-free (most of the time) South, I was helped greatly by a Chicagoan after an ice storm. He taught me to duck walk on ice. Bend your knees a bit, hunker down a bit, and move your feet in short slides or steps (keeping tyhem under your hunkered down body so as not to unbalance your center of mass), and only move one foot at a time. Wipeouts will be reduced to a minimum.
ReplyDeleteBeing from the gloriously ice-free (most of the time) South, I was helped greatly by a Chicagoan after an ice storm. He taught me to duck walk on ice. Bend your knees a bit, hunker down a bit, and move your feet in short slides or steps (keeping tyhem under your hunkered down body so as not to unbalance your center of mass), and only move one foot at a time. Wipeouts will be reduced to a minimum.
ReplyDeletehehehehe.... When I used to work in the financial district, we'd play "a game" and make penny bets over who'd wipe out on the ice-covered sidewalks as they walked past the post office plaza. (We'd be sitting inside of Intelligentsia - probably one of the best coffee shops evar!)
The best was one tall, gorgeous blond business-attired woman who defied, seemingly, the laws of physics and walked in sky-high heels over the ice like it was child's play...
We were gob smacked.
Well, what's a high heel but a spike? 120 lbs of pressure focused on a single 1/2" dia. point of ice? Damn sure she wasn't going to slip on the ice.
ReplyDeleteRoss
ReplyDeleteYour wife got the 'Stang cuz all the winter-worthy cars on the lot were already gone.
We in the Great White North owe a large debt to Tam and other bloggers in the US Mid-West for being our early warning weather network.
Whatever happens in your weather happens here, 24 hours later.
On-the-scene bloggers' reports are much more accurate / vivid than anything our TV mad scientists can dream up, long as ya don't mind the accompanying winter cusswords.
Well, When you're trapped in the house that is a fine time to dry fire.
ReplyDeleteIt's about 60 our here now, and I have the windows open with a fine cigar going.
Ah.........the good life!
... and a one-man extremely minimalist Iditarod.
ReplyDeleteThe next event in the X Games!