xl_target wrote:The problem with Southern Minnesota is that it is basically prairie and there are maybe a few fence posts to break the winds as they come howling in from the wastelands of the Dakotas.
We always said that in Eastern Montana, the only thing between Montana and the North Pole was a barbed wire fence in Canada.
The Dakotas: Minot, North Dakota is where it gets REALLY cold!
xl_target wrote:You can dress warm but once the wind starts, it will cut through the your outer wear like it isn't even there.
There are all kinds of miracle synthetic materials and insulations. They are good, but they don't breath like natural stuff does and they make a great racket when moving through the woods. I've worn my Filson coat in Ottawa Canada at Christmas time, and for Chicago or Minnesota, where it's windy, I want a good quality leather coat with insulation. The one I have now has a zip-in knit collar that will seal my neck and the buttoned opening quite well -- it's pretty good. I find that synthetics that will block the wind won't let the body breath, and it's too easy to work up a sweat in them. Once you sweat, you are wet and all is lost as far as keeping warm.
xl_target wrote:Of course, there are the winter sports enthusiasts, who delight in skiing, sledding, snowboarding and snowmobiling. Some of the modern snowmobiles are capable of doing 120 mph with ease. Snomobilers dress up like spacemen, complete with insulated helmets.
One winter, my Brother drove me out on Lake Minnetonka. Those crazy Scandahoovians were out on the ice as if it was a park in summer. They played volleyball, sat on sofas and watched big screen TVs powered by generators, ran 4-wheelers all over and carried on having all sorts of fun. I couldn't get over it!
xl_target wrote:Snow on the roads, if not cleared right away, will get packed down and turn into ice. Driving on that is like driving on a skating rink. You also get ice from the water vapor in automobile exhaust. It freezes and coats the roads forming a thin layer of ice. You won't know that it is there till you touch the brakes or try a lane change.
Here, Montana was different. The ice did not melt at all during the day, and the sand poured out on the roads soon became like pavement. Car exhaust evaporated immediately in the dry cold air. The roads were generally pretty good, unless it was fall or spring, when they would thaw and refreeze at night.
xl_target wrote:Then you have the gusting winds that push your vehicle around.
Eastern New Mexico, east of Albuquerque: I once drove from Edgewood to Moriarty in my pickup. It was, as they say, slicker than snot and the wind was really gusting, as it always did and does there. The wind gusted so strong that it blew my pickup about a foot over the road -- my rear tires were chained up! That is bodacious wind!
xl_target wrote:After a while you learn how to drive for the conditions here. You have no choice as you have to go to work every day. I've had my share of winter driving mishaps and for the most part, I know what I am doing now. Steering and brake inputs have to be very gradual and speeds have to be kept down relative to the road conditions. Good tires are extremely important and you have to keep large distances between you and them when following other vehicles.
I find that the biggest threat is people who don't know how to drive. Exactly as XL says, everything must be planned ahead of time, and light touches on the throttle, brakes, and steering are a must. The problem comes in when some fool thinks he can pull out in front of you because you have left a larger than normal gap. Then there are the people who won't or can't by good tires and drive around with baldies. They are huge hazards to deal with.
My idea for training would be to put 10 cars on a 1/4 mile oval racetrack that is totally ice. Have them drive around the racetrack together at the same speed for a few laps. Then, disconnect the brakes on all of their cars and do it again. Finally, have five of them drive clockwise and the other five drive around counter-clockwise, again with no brakes.
I trained myself by going wild on the school parking lot during the winters. Then, I could see what whipping the wheel or slamming on the brakes would do, and how a vehicle would slide. Why driver's training never does this, I do not know. This kind of fooling around is invaluable.
xl_target wrote:You just have to use common sense for the most part.
Exactly so! The only problem, though, is that common sense isn't always so common!