Vancouver is built around hills and you cannot avoid them. Here is a particularly bad section for me as the sun is right at road level as you approach the top. Your sun visor is of no use at this angle. You are in the shadow of the dip in the road and then you are blinded as you near the top. Luckily we don't get that many sunny days during the Winter. It has been raining nearly every day since last week and this is just the lull before another storm makes it's way here
I stop to snap a photo of these dark clouds. I have the same problem on my way home with the low setting sun on my evening commute. I am stuck in heavy traffic and it is hard to see. It's only 6:38 pm and I still haven't made it home
Our worst day of the weekend was forecast to be Saturday. It started raining late Friday night with rain expected every day until next Wednesday
I had some errands to do and when it rains, our traffic slows down to a crawl. The sun managed to make a short appearance around sunset but I was too late to get a good vantage point
I just missed the reflected glow off the buildings by mere minutes . . .
the buildings now look cold and lifeless as the light slowly ebbs away
and the dark clouds only forshadow what was to be . . .
The rain came down so hard it was like being under a waterfall. We had so much water our city drains could not handle the downpour so there was pooling water everywhere with minor flooding. The winds caused power outages all over town
And this is only our first weekend of our new Fall season
Bob, this might help: www.super-visor.com. I like it a lot, though on really windy days, you can't leave your visor up and not feel the wind's tug every now and then.
ReplyDeleteyour rains look like our recent deluges.
dom
Dom:
DeleteThanks for the link. I already have Duct Tape over my visor as a sun blocker and I tilt my helmet down but with the sun "right at road level" it is hard to adjust your eyes from shadow to bright sun. It takes a moment before you can see, and you are riding blind for a moment in heavy traffic.
You can't ride when you can't see the puddles, and some are deeper than you think
Yup - we had that last weekend ... I could show you the wash out at the end of my drive, but the sun shone again and I went riding instead. (Bob, ya gotta live east of where you work so you always drive west in the morning and east in the evening, then you don't have to worry about the sun in your eyes on the commute.)
ReplyDeleteKaren:
DeleteIf I were closer I would have brought my shovel and helped you to level it out. Perhaps one day it can be paved.
I am hoping that one day soon I won't have to worry about commuting. Also, soon our sun will disappear and we will go back to standard time so riding in the dark may be safer
Back to Raincouver, I guess. I honestly learned to appreciate the rain over the ice cold temps. At least one can still take a walk it the rain...
ReplyDeleteIn the Black Forest we now have morning temps around 10C and still warming up (yesterday) to 20C. Damp and foggy in the morning but mostly sunny in the afternoon.
Sonja:
DeleteRight now it's 11°c and later in the week it may go up to 14°c , so you are much warmer than us but rain is forecast till next weekend. There won't be any fog here unless we get some "heat". And I think Rain is better than snow. Our snow does look nice for the first few hours, then it gets dirty and mushy, that's if we get any
Glad you are surviving the deluge. We are experiencing the same.
ReplyDeleteTrobairitz:
DeleteI noticed that this was a very large storm covering BC down to Oregon but last week you had good weather while we had rain all week. I guess it can't be helped. We have no control over the weather but the thought of Winter is a bit depressing, unless you ski or snowmobile.
I don't feel so bad when some of us have the same weather. It's just that some of us back East in Ontario just had a great riding weekend
I'm having the same problem with the sun during my commute. Love the pictures.
ReplyDeletePam:
DeleteIt's only a problem for a week or so until I go to work before sunrise when we change our clocks back to standard time, and also sunset on the way home. Glad to see I am in good company with the same problem. Usually I just take the car until it is safer.
Of course, one day I may not have to commute anymore
I don't even live in Vancouver and I'm still depressed by the amount of rain you get there in the winter. (Can we call it winter when a major snowfall is 1/2" and it holds up traffic for days?)
ReplyDeleteI do like the shot of the sun reflecting off the office towers.
Canajun:
DeleteYour snow is different than our wet snow which turns to ice every night. We also have hills and even with snow tires they don't grip on slush with ice underneath. Your snow blows away as you drive past as it is dry.
The sun was shining on all the towers mere minutes earlier, but I couldn't get to my vantage point fast enough. All the buildings were in the golden glow of light
Well, I feel sorry for all your rain, but would you prefer to live out here where we can get -30 and tons of snow?
ReplyDeleteps: are you driving in bare feet??
B:
DeleteI think your -30° may feel warmer than our damp cold at zero. But I certainly can imagine the nice white clean snow blanket where you are during winter. Little traffic to spoil the scene and the quietness of country living
Ever since my stupid accident when I injured or detached my achilles tendon my foot has not been the same . I need loose shoes or it starts to hurt and then I can't walk so I started to wear sandals. It has never healed correctly and it is recurring. There are times I can't walk due to the pain so I just started to wear sandals most of the time, or slip ons like Crocs© but they are not the most secure when you drive a manual 5 speed in traffic so most of the time when I drive I just ditch the Crocs© and I have found that I like the feel of the clutch better without footwear.
It's the same with riding boots. I can't walk in them very long before I am crippled and it takes a day or so to recover, that's why most of the time I just change into sandals right away when I get where I am going
Someone up here mentioned that as long as it's raining, it's warm enough to ride.
ReplyDeleteAnd if it didn't rain a lot, you'll need to come up with a new blog title.
Richard:
DeleteI know that most riders try to avoid the rain. Myself included BUT whilst on a trip you have no choice but to ride on, or stay put and wait it out which is not always possible due to vacation time restraints.
When I was in 100°F heat I was wishing for rain, but warm rain. but when it rained on the Atlantic coast it was the cold rain, not unlike the cold rain of BC back home
From your perspective, being in Alaska then Cold rain is better than the alternative
I know what you mean about riding into the sun, I've been there more than once luckily there really isn't traffic here even in town, but I tend to be on the highways when I riding into the sun and my tinted visor does cut a lot of it, it's more a problem that the sun reflects off the road and you cant really see the surface properly .. so it's often a slow easy ride in those circumstances.
ReplyDeleteGood to see you got a foot shot in :D
Brenda:
Deleteour traffic is very aggressive and unforgiving and when you are in the shadow it takes a moment before your eyes can adust to the bright sunshine. I just don't feel safe on my bike during this time as you can't see . . .
You are luckier that you have much less traffic. So just be careful out there
. . . and thanks for noticing