Even the more modern EPA rated catalytic stoves or secondary burn tube types?
I’m not a huge fan of fireplaces, other than the nice ambiance like you and PD mentioned. We have a wood stove upstairs and a fireplace in the basement. I think I’ve only burned the fireplace maybe three times in the two years we’ve lived there.
I believe in a lot of areas it’s already technically illegal to buy an old non-EPA rated stove and install it. Existing installations are grandfathered in, but any new ones have to meet certain emission requirements.
Down in the rural southern part of the state where I spend weekends (and where there’s no air pollution problem), we have a wood-burning fireplace insert that cranks out a ton of heat. Get that thing going and it easily heats the entire first floor of the house. Unfortunately, I didn’t get up into the mountains this past summer with my chainsaw to cut firewood. Now winter is here and the mountain trails are no longer passable. I’m already looking forward to spring.
Bikey Bike Bike Bike Bike (that’s the name of my most awesome mountain bike) has a fresh pair of Ice Spiker Pro tyres … over 350 aluminum tungsten carbide studs per tyre!!!
There was a time when I could go out on cold rides and have fun. But the charms of riding below 40, let alone below freezing, are now largely lost on me.
My road bike has been in the basement on the trainer for over a month at this point.
Just reading through the replies … .and wood stoves are a huge part of Upstate NY life. We didn’t have a furnace whilst growing up. We had a huge round oak in the living room and a pot belly in the dining room. No heat upstairs but for floor vents. We all had more blisters and splinters than I care to remember from splitting and piling cords of wood for the winter. Let alone the burns from the stoves while loading and getting too close while fooling around. We burned so much that no matter how my Dad tried to keep with cleaning the chimney we would still have the odd chimney fire now and again. Those are exciting times We got to know the Fire Dept. very well
There are, maybe, two or three times during mid-winter when cabin fever starts driving me nuts. I’ll get my mountain bike out, dress up like an eskimo and ride for a few miles while doing my best to avoid patches of ice. The stationary bike just doesn’t do it for me — booooooring.
I know a guy at work who bought one of those fat-tired bikes. He says he likes riding it on snow-packed trails. I’m skeptical. I wouldn’t mind trying it, but really, how fun could peddling through the snow possibly be?
Next day edit: I should have explained this better. So at the risk of over-explaining today, sensitivities over indigenous peoples terminology differ between the US and Canada. Apparently, the words Eskimo and Inuit being two of them.
I knew the common term for American Indians has changed to “First Nations” in Canada, with the word Indian coming to be seen as offensive by many. In the US, the term “native Americans” is often used, but the older term Indian is still preferred by many — including many native Americans — despite the awkward confusion with south Asian Indians.
What I didn’t know, but should have guessed, is that this issue extends to Eskimo vs. Inuit. I knew that in Alaska, many indigenous Yupik people still use the general term Eskimo. Apparently, in Canada, this has evolved differently.
Anyway, despite the terms Indian and Eskimo having drifted toward becoming offensive in Canada, this not generally true in the US, where the terms might be antiquated, inaccurate or confusing but not offensive.
A word that was perfectly acceptable a few years ago does not become offensive just because those people who were called eskimos now prefer to be called Inuits.
I’ve never heard the term eskimo used in a way that was meant as offensive, so there’s no reason to consider it an offensive word now despite what you believe to be the case.
I won’t argue with you that it’s boring. The only way I can ride is if I’m watching something that’s engaging enough that I forget what I’m actually doing.
We got to know the Fire Dept. very well