Friday, December 30, 2022

Another year ends

 Seven degrees Celsius at seven o'clock this morning. 

22 years into the century, and there are many mysteries. Why are we so poorly behaved? Who would have ever thought that many who worshipped George Washington for his honesty, would shrug truth into irrelevance, without so much as a pause, or second thought. It boggles my mind.

The weather is another head-scratcher.

SEVEN DEGREES!!! It's December 30th for heaven's sake. Buffalo, a mere 100 kilometres south of Toronto, has suffered an unprecedented winter storm. In a city that gets more than its fair share of snow, where people know how to cope with winter weather better than most, more than 40 people have lost their lives as a direct result of the storm that paralyzed the city. It boggles my mind.

As I write this, it's now 10 degrees here, headed to eleven degrees.

Yes, you are correct! I did not loop the P2 loop this morning. It was truly a joy to ride outdoors: south to Mel Lastman Square, west through the cemetery to Senlac, on through the side streets to Bathurst, north to the Finch corridor path, east to Yonge, and south back home. In all 8.5 thoroughly enjoyable kilometres.

I bundled up (3 layers, including a top waterproof one; mitts; ear warmer band; neck thingy). IT WAS BALMY when I left the garage. Warmer outside than in the indoor parking. I had to lower some zippers. Sheesh!

Look at this.

Yes, we did get a blizzard while the rest of Ontario, Quebec and New York was getting slammed with snow.

This is all that remains. Many Torontonians prayed for the snow so we could have a white Christmas. Evidently we prayed a little too much. We owe our neighbours a heartfelt apology. 

In truth, praying for a white Christmas is not the cause of all this unprecedented pain and grief. It's global warming. At least that's what I think. I could be wrong. But why risk life on earth when we could act to become carbon neutral and substantially address the threat of a global catastrophe?

My very best wishes to my family, dear friends, and dear readers. Let's all hope and pray that we right the course and sail to better times.

4 comments:

SonjaM said...

Happy New Year, David! We had 20°C (uhm plus...) on the last day of 2022 and were able to watch fireworks while wearing T-shirts. Unbelievable. Wishing you and your family all the best. Cheers, SonjaM

David Masse said...

So nice of you to drop by Sonja, I hope all is well with you, Roland and your family. I can't believe 20C in the grip of winter. It's crazy, right?

Unknown said...

Happy New Year, David!
This is Russ in Ruidoso Downs, New Mexico. As I type this, it is raining! And I heard thunder a few minutes ago. I checked the calendar again, and yes, it is supposed to be winter! I'm not sure when I last checked in but I'm prepping myself and my 2020 GTS300 HPE Touring model for a ride this spring. The HPE has a USB port in the glove box. I was thinking of using that for my Garmin Nuvi but I think I'll install a 12Volt outlet in the left knee pad and reserve the USB for charging my phone. I'm planning on camping on my trip so minimizing my gear is key. Keep up the good work and we'll talk later maybe.

David Masse said...

Welcome back Russ.

My experience is that the USB port in the glove box is quite weak. It barely runs my GPS and charges my phone. If I were commuting and touring as I was used to doing I would already have installed dual 'cigarette lighter' ports on the left kneepad, as I had on my previous GTS. The other benefit is that using the glove box port for something you need to mount on your handlebars or mirror stems means either cutting a path in the glove box door or finding wires that can squeeze through the gap (which is what I am currently doing) combined with the weak current in the glovebox port, it's not a great solution.

It's great that you are planning to have a dedicated GPS. I navigate mostly using my iPhone so that I get the audio over my helmet audio. That said, when you are touring, depending on the terrain and the route, you often will find that you have no cell coverage. That's where the GPS takes over and saves the day.

I am not sure if you have seen the Touring Guide and the Gear Guide on this blog, but the links are above. There is quite a lot of helpful bits and pieces there.

I think that one essential thing for touring, in addition to all the other things, is really good rain gear, and a backup supply of fuel.

I look forward to hearing more about your adventures.

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