the frozen ride

NWAlps, a photo by rOcKeTdOgUk on Flickr.

Ben, Ant,Dan and i met up for a ride of complete contrast to last weeks, although we pedalled almost all of the same trails the conditions couldn't have been more different. No rain all week and three days of sub zero temperatures left last weeks swampy muddy mess a hard baked and frozen playground where there was even a high amount of grip if you avoided the clearly frozen areas, where last time we sunk down into the mire and traction was next to impossible the frost enabled us to skip over the solid ruts and almost imagine kicking up dust along the way. Ok that last bit was an exaggeration but after the winter we've had I'll gladly let my imagination run riot.One disappointment was that the "short cut" to Waseley has suddenly been fenced off with "private land" signs prominently displayed. Its a favourite route for walkers and horse riders and has been used freely by everyone for as long as i can remember. It'll be interesting what happens when the spring comes and people who avoid it's muddiness all winter discover what has occurred. Everyone was well wrapped up but it was still imperative to keep moving to stay warm, however near the end of the ride the temperature must have risen sufficiently for the mud to defrost a little and the bikes that had stayed clean all day got absolutely filthy in the couple of miles along the towpath at the very end of ride and so, yet again the hose pipe needed to be deployed. If we can't have sunny dusty trails yet then I'll settle for frozen solid and dry!
ride 15
19 miles
total 310