Cave Idus Martias!

On the Ides of March we had two rides on the MG to celebrate the coming Death of Winter.  It was actually a little colder than ideal with temps in the low 40s, overcast, and very windy.

My wife and I took another quick loop around the neighborhood around 11:00  but it quickly turned more uncomfortable than we expected and we returned home.  At noon, I took a ride out 252 to the Paoli Shopping Center to take some film to be developed at Ritz Camera and fueled up at the Luke Oil on the corner of Leopard Rd. and 30.  I filled the tank all the way to the top since I had made a patch on it last December where I thought the spout was leaking.  It turns out that the leak is still there.  It may be from a bad cap, that will be the next step.  If changing the cap does not work, I will replace the tank.  On the way back I took the Sugartown Rd/Church Rd loop and stopped at The Willows for a photo from my phone.  No photos, it didn't happen so that was a necessary stop.  The pond at The Willows is still completely frozen over.

Speedo/odo with mileage at fill-up

Tomorrow the temps are forecast to go as high as the low sixties so I am thinking it's time to take the Enfield out.  We'll see.

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The Fourth Day of Christmas - The Feast of Saint Thomas à Becket

Willistown Quaker Meeting Graveyard

The Feast of Thomas à Becket broke blue and bright but still cold.  By mid morning the temp had rising to 40 and it stayed there most of the day.  At about 14:00 I stopped by Gene's to talk to Harold the mechanic about the tank on the MG.  He had not found a solution to coating the inside to prevent any further rust and suggested that I look for a kit to do this.  My answer was to replace the tank, as it is not only rusting inside but also leaking from the filling spout.  Harold said that if I could find the right tank he would install it.  

I searched the web and found this 1961-1967 tank to be the closest thing to what I have. According to the website they are on back order but the cost is not bad at around $160 plus shipping.  I would have to find someone to cut and reattach the top of the spout as the stock model would protrude from the hood of the MG.  I will have to do some further research on finding someone to do this but a cursory search on the internet has led me to Angelo & Son in Havertown who might be able to do the work.   

By the time I got home, shortly after my stop at Gene's, the temps had not gotten much better, maybe around 43, but Fortuna fortes adjuvat and I made the decision to roll out the Bullet.  The run did not last long.  

I headed up Goshen and made it as far as the Willistown Quaker Meeting House where I did a quick turn around.  The layering up worked for all my body but not having winter gloves really put the strain on my hands.  I think that by the time I had reached Providence Rd my hands were already frozen but I pushed just that little bit extra to make a good turn around.  If I want to ride in this weather, even for short distances, I have to find a glove solution.  The Meeting House is about 5 miles from my house so the whole trip was just a little over 10 miles.  I did stop at the graveyard there for a couple of pics and to rub my hands together until the circulation returned.

When I left the house the odo read 2663.6 and when I returned it was at 2675.1 

Willistown Quaker Meeting Graveyard

Willistown Quaker Meeting Graveyard

Willistown Quaker Meeting Graveyard

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The Third Day of Christmas - The Feast of the Innocents

Winter came back with a vengeance on the Feast of the Innocents.  It rained overnight and temperatures dropped to the mid 30s.  Morning broke overcast, misty, and cold.  By noon there was a brief break in the clouds and for about 2 seconds I thought I would take the Bullet out to beat last year's record but just as quickly I thought better of it.  So no ride.

The Bullet and the Midget

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First Snow

Last Wednesday, the Wednesday before Thanksgiving, we had our first snow.  The media made a big fuss about a Nor'easter and expectations of a lot of snow but at least along the 95 corridor in Pennsylvania we didn't get very much.  About 99% of it was gone by Friday and what remains is only in the shaded grassy areas.  This is not the earliest I remember snow here, in 2011 I remember a much bigger storm on Halloween.

This snow doesn't mean the end of riding, there will still be a couple of nice days before the heavy winter comes in.

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Winter is coming

Clock still on DST

No riding in the last week beyond the regular commute to work.  It rained on Wednesday afternoon and I caught a little of it on the way home but not enough to bother and it rained all day on Thursday so not even a commute that day.

Saturday was a complete rain out and Sunday was fairly cold.  This morning I did not ride in but I did come back from lunch on the Bullet and used that opportunity to gas up on the World's Most Expensive Shell on the corner of 30 and Spring Mill Rd.

At the stop the Bullet had 2417.1 miles on the odo and the tank took 3.133 gallons (which cost me $12.53 at $3.99 a gallon when most other places are way below that).  That is 179 miles since the last fill up for a mileage of 57.1333 mpg.  Probably the worst mileage since the Bullet rolled of the showroom floor.

Thursday's forecast calls for clear and fairly warm, in the mid 60s.  Will definitely schedule in a ride then.

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