Winter driving

[Scout63]

I just drove up from the Cape to Vermont for a quick overnight to visit one of our girls at college. It was raining/snowing hovering at 32 degrees F (0C) the whole way. The last 100 miles on unplowed snow and the last 10 over an unplowed pass with zero traffic.  Average speed for about 300 miles was 37mph. I have to say I really enjoyed it. No phone.

[Kev m]

VT can be next level with their lack of road treatment.

We were coming back from Magic Mountain during a blizzard last year in the Defender.

The lack of road treatment had me nervous as not only did we not have winter tires on the thing, we actually had summer sport tires.

It didn't miss a beat though which was amazing.

I still felt WAY better when I hit the NY border and it instantly went from 12"+ of snow covering to completely clear and just wet.

But I guess it was kinda fun at the same time too.

[Bulldog9]

Slow and steady is the way.

Have driven 3100 miles since just before Christmas, and threaded the needle on a couple of segments, but was nothing compared to last January when I had to escape the snowmegeddon in DC and south to SC. Made an 8 hour drive in 20. Crawling at some points, but made it with no issue. Watching maroons driving too fast and spinning off the road, into ditches, etc, earned no sympathy for me after the first two I pulled out of a ditch. After that, I just slogged on in 4 High.







free photo upload

[Dirk_S]

Vermont is fun to drive outside of winter. I can only imagine how beautiful and fun (and sketchy) it would be in the snow.

My big two snow excursions so far this season have been with the Subaru into the White Mountains for some Christmas Day snowshoeing, and some jaunts around town in the rig. The V7’s gonna need some knobbier tires on the bike’s side for me to tackle any depth.

[cliffrod]

When I was carving in Barre 20 yrs ago, the biggest problems with the winter roads were those “transplants” (being polite) who imagined they were just like us natives and fully prepared for life in VT including real winter driving.  I regularly broke the rode (first tire tracks) for the first 5+ miles and it only added a few minutes to my 15 mile commute. Older 2wd Astro cargo van (empty, no extra weight), all season tires, no issues because it’s a normal part of life after spending an extra 30min or more clearing the driveway at 4:30 am so I wouldn’t be late to the studio.  Breaking the road like that is somewhat a yankee responsibility or privilege, because you’re doing your part to make the road better for others behind you.  And, if you don’t get stuck or run off the road, it demonstrates you’re not an idiot.

But if I was a few minutes late & any of the “transplants” got in front of me- especially the tiny lady with lots of touristy VT stickers on the back window of her brand new 4wd Subaru wagon with flashers blazing while she creeped along white knuckle at <10mph- it could easily add 30 min or more to the same trip.   Yet those are the exact people who bitch & vote at town meeting to move the town garage to the far end of the world for only aesthetic reasons, which means the plows that used to be in the middle of the village are now twice as far away to most of the roads they have to clear.   Us poor dumb Vermontahs just don’t understand…

Rant over.

On the flip side, most regular Vermonters would rather drive on unbroken snowy roads than on the 4+ lane highway, turnpike & interchange insanity like you find in the outside world around real cities like King of Prussia toll gates, Atlanta I-85/I-285, etc. 

[fotoguzzi]

We have snow on the mountains🙂

[n3303j]

Grew up in Central Connecticut. Learned to drive sixty years ago back when they had real snow. Roads were plowed to hard pack for the winter. The long hills were occasionally sanded. There were sand boxes at the bottom of short hills so you could "self sand" as necessary. If it got really bad you added tire chains. Of course everything was rear wheel drive. So you really learned how to manage traction. I remember my first front wheel drive car in 1980 and being amazed at the difference pulling vs pushing made.
Biggest problem is that all these people with full time four wheel drive think it will stop and corner better. Nope, it just let's you get further into trouble.

[Kev m]

Biggest problem is that all these people with full time four wheel drive think it will stop and corner better. Nope, it just let's you get further into trouble.

Actually I've had a driving instructor explain that full time systems (or engaged part time systems) WILL make a vehicle stop and corner better. Driveline friction and engine braking will contribute to deceleration, dividing traction between wheels will help cornering. But it's a matter of degree and still requires skill/attention, so it's still easy to surpass traction limits. And perhaps therefore easier to get yourself into even bigger trouble if it goes sideways due to potentially greater speeds.

So the problem is people getting lulled into a false sense of security thinking AWD is a panacea.

Still there's nothing like a Scoobie-Doo on Blizzaks for extreme fun in those conditions.

[bigbikerrick]

Vermont is fun to drive outside of winter. I can only imagine how beautiful and fun (and sketchy) it would be in the snow.

My big two snow excursions so far this season have been with the Subaru into the White Mountains for some Christmas Day snowshoeing, and some jaunts around town in the rig. The V7’s gonna need some knobbier tires on the bike’s side for me to tackle any depth.

Dirk, you need to keep the Guzzi as your "summer rig" and get yourself a "winter rig" as in a Ural 2wd!   Urals are simply amazing in the snow, with some nice knobbies!
Rick.

[Dirk_S]

Dirk, you need to keep the Guzzi as your "summer rig" and get yourself a "winter rig" as in a Ural 2wd!   Urals are simply amazing in the snow, with some nice knobbies!
Rick.

Ha, already had one…for only 6 months. The lack of space (downtown living) and financial resources led me to sell it and look to the V7 as a versatile, lesser version. I miss the 2WD and reverse already.

[Scout63]

I’ve had my Touareg for over ten years and rarely use the hill descent function. I used it last night coming over the Roxbury gap.  Set it at 10 mph coming down and the car just held the speed.  I could feel the engine and antilock brakes maximize hold and still give me full steering. I agree with you Clint about driving in fresh snow.  12a from Randolph up to Roxbury was magical in the snow at midnight.

[cliffrod]

No kidding, Ben.  It’s just so white & quiet and at night.  when there a fresh layer of snow and a full moon to light it, you almost don’t need headlights to drive.  They had my bachelor party for my first wedding at some big house on the hill between east Randolph and VTC in mid Dec and it was like that after they were done with me.. the trip home to Chelsea was serene.   

There were many other nights out doing things best not to do but that young people do anyways, with a pure white drive home.  It makes you want to go out in it, just because.  That doesn’t even count the time/parties at whoever’s camp, way up in the woods on dirt roads because you know that’s going to be an adventure to get back to the pavement.  Maybe now that there’s weather radar, people don’t do it the same(?) I think that kind of thing is like trying to explain high 90’s F temps and high humidity at 2am nights down south, where you just sweat like a it’s a contest.  You’ve got do it to get it and when you live there, there’s nothing else to do.

I’ve done a little good snow full moon bike rides (late spring, clear roads, really cold) but more late night snow machine rides like that.  It’s a thrill to do but it’s really nice to get home to the fire and thaw out.

[Kev m]

You hit on something with the quiet comment.

I love that .. like the world is coated with this sound deadening material (cause it is).

And yeah, it's "bright" at night, even more depending on the moon.

Kinda magical.

[Canuck750]

Up here in north western Canada winter is only six months long. Back when I was a kid almost no one had a four wheel drive vehicle of any kind and most vehicles were rear wheel drive with and the majority of people never installed winter tires. Roads were not as well maintained as they are today and until recently no salt products were mixed with sanding. I really believe people were better winter drivers back then, folks drove with respect for winter.

In my area all wheel drive or four wheel drive vehicles outnumber two wheel drive by a wide margin.
Every big storm seems to result in a lot of 4wd trucks in the ditch. Most new truck owners swap out stock tires for bigger all terrain tires, not winter tires. The big mud throwing treads do nothing for grip on ice. Too many people think their rigs are invincible, a lack of traction mixed with a sudden need to brake is a recipe for disaster.

[Testarossa]

On Tuesday morning I drove over to Crested Butte for a powder day with my kid and her beau. Snowing steadily all the way, on snowpacked SR92. That's the twisty road along the north rim of the Black Canyon-- it rises and falls between 8000 and 10,000 feet. Subaru with Michelin Ice-X tires and no worries. On the way home on Wednesday the sun came out. Most of the road was solid snowpack. Saw only one other car on the road, an SUV, and passed him, and passed a plow. Not enough traffic to dirty the snow -- the whole world bright white under a silver sky with gorgeous blue sucker holes. On one slow curve I got to see a lynx climbing the steep hill above the road. I love this kind of drive.

[s1120]

I do like driving in snow. living in upstate NY I guess thats a good thing. I do hate driving in it with a lot of traffic though!

[Scout63]

I forgot to mention that on the way up to VT on Route 89 on Thursday I passed a group of police and firefighters looking over a banged up guardrail down a steep hill.  I couldn’t even see the car that went over. That’s the terrifying part of winter driving.

[John A]

Here is how it is over in Minnesota https://youtu.be/_EJ-zw78uV8