Wednesday 4 February 2015

Dan finds snow


 
Dan missed out on yesterdays ride in the fresh snow and there had been a thaw all day so we headed straight up to Beacon hill to see how the thicker stuff had faired over night. A light frost made the snow feel totally different to the last ride. Before it had been soft and fluffy, perfect for snowballs but today it was thinner and crunchy and very loud with a 4” tyre running over it. There was still the excellent traction properties and it didn’t seem such hard work to pedal through it, but it was worth the effort to see Dan’s face as he played in it!
There was a vicious wind today up to 30mph making the -1 temps feel more like -15 and after playing in the snow we headed for shelter and as many climbs as possible to keep warm. We “granola’d” in the park and Dan was tempted by the skate park (more to do with the fact it was kid free, so there was no one to take the piss!) pulling some moves from his BMX days. He tried to coach me over the jump but I failed miserably. The final part of the ride was an interval session up the canal, with a climb every 100 yards or so for about 5 miles, seriously tough on a fat bike into the wind!
We split at the turn off for the up and over towpath and I continued on the road, Dan chose the off road route as it was a straighter route to his house. Unfortunately it was so muddy that way that his rear mech got clogged and with the effort he was putting through it the rear mech hanger snapped off! It did it’s job and saved the rear mech and frame from damage by breaking first but meant Dan’s last few miles of the ride were at walking pace.
Ride 11
29 miles
Total 178
Commute 40

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