Thursday, December 24, 2009

A ride in the snow to Bee Rock

Note: This posting is also located on examiner.com. So what's the difference?  I get paid per # of hits on that site, so if you feel like helping my fuel budget, read the article there instead:  LINK  Thanks!


Yesterday afternoon after lunch, I set out in the light snowfall and slushy main streets on Natasha again.

Temperatures ranged in the mid to high twenties I think. It really wasn't too bad. I headed down towards the town of Parker via Jordan Rd, then took Motsenberger Rd to Crowfoot Parkway and thence to the town of Castle Rock. Passing over the I-25 Super Slab, I got to US85 which I then took northbound towards the town of Sedalia.

The roads were mostly clear, just very wet with melting snow. Everything else not paved was covered in about an inch or two of snow. Not much really.

I got to Sedalia and turned on CO67 heading west towards Jarre Canyon. Just short of the canyon itself, I turned south on North Oak Valley Road, my objective was to take pictures of Bee Rock.


A snow covered forest trail near Daniels Park, enroute to Sedalia. My camera initially would not turn on, had to place the batteries on the engine's left jug to warm them up first! I kept the camera inside my riding jacket's liner after that to be able to shoot pictures.

Bee Rock, got there just in time for the sun to start peeking out between snow clouds

There was perhaps 4-6 inches of snow, tops, on the dirt road that goes past Bee Rock. Natasha handled the snow just fine I am pleased to add.

This is as far as I went, I probably would have been fine but didn't want to go deep into the trail without another Ural around to help me if I got into trouble. Any Uralistas in the Denver area interested in some riding when it snows?

Here's Natasha after she brought me home, safe and sound, note the ice accumulations on her!

As I was cleaning Natasha up, I found this cool collection of ice crystals which had formed on and within the sidecar's wheel

A rather enjoyable afternoon ride, perhaps 60 miles total. The only incident was one I came upon. There was a tow truck blocking the road on the way to Jarre Canyon. The operator was trying to pull a pickup truck that had gone into the ditch by the side of the road. Traffic was blocked both ways and we all sat and watched him try and pull the truck out of the ditch. He still had not succeeded after 15 minutes, but he moved the tow truck allowing the stacked up traffic to move once again.

The only parts of me which got cold were my fingers and heated grips on high cured that. My toes as well but moving them near the engine's jugs warmed them up quickly.

Note: I replaced the original photos of Bee Rock above with retouched versions which more accurately reflected the colors in evidence when I was there.

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