Wind Speed

If we have learned anything from the reports posted by Dee and Cal it is that wind is a much more formidable adversary than distance or elevation, maybe even than precipitation, though that is debatable and rain is not unrelated to wind. In any case, I figured out this morning that if one looks at the interactive local radar map, it is possible to click on "Weather Layers" below the map and then select wind speed for current wind conditions. As far as I can figure out, though, it does not indicate the direction.

Dee, you probably cannot get all this on your BB, but for those of us spectating from our desks, this is one more tool for the Vicarious Trikers. For what it is worth, Weather.com predicts less wind today and maybe a shift out of the WSW.

While I am thinking about it, I am not sure how many of these tools will follow you all the way through Canada to Alaska. In particular, I am worried about your broadband coverage. I have become addicted to reading your posts each evening.

Case in Point

It doesn't take a rocket scientist (or even a meteorologist) to see what I meant yesterday about temperature extremes on the High Plains. It was just Wednesday that the Trikers were happy for a patch of shade in 82 F, and now less than three days later they are waiting out a broad band of snow and ice with ground temperatures right at freezing. The wind chill might be even lower, although the wind at present is just 3 mph. The high today is predicted to be 47 F.

Dee, if you are stuck in Alliance another day, I am guessing your mobility will be limited (like not moving your trikes from the room), but it would be interesting to see what Carhenge looks like in the snow. Still I hope you can find enough of a break in the weather to get north of this band.

Tools for the Vicarious Journey

The thing that probably drew me into this adventure more than anything else was looking at the planned route from Wichita to Alaska. I quickly realized that after the first 300 miles or so, I hardly had a clue where any of these places are. So I pulled up Google maps and searched for each of the cities listed. It then occurred to me to save this as one of "My Maps" so I could look it up frequently, and subsequently to update it as the trikers post their location on their blog each day. That map can be found at: tinyurl.com/cjgm39. You can also always find it in the "Tools for the Journey" gadget in the upper right-hand corner of this page.

The fun thing about the map is that it is interactive. You can zoom in or out for more or less detail by clicking on the + or – on the left-hand side of the map. You can also move the map by dragging the hand, or with the upper left-hand control. Between the two controls is a little yellow figure that you can drag to a given location to get a "street view" of that location. Talk about vicarious! (Unfortunately, the street view doesn't work in Canada, at least not yet.) In the upper right-hand corner of the map you can select from Map, Satellite, and Terrain views.

The other tool that allows me to travel vicariously with the trikers is the live Doppler radar. I will do my best to keep their location updated on the area radar tool as well.