Even the car looks like it is going to be messy

Well, finally on Sunday, I could not take it any longer, the wall were closing in and I was becoming crabby to everyone around me. So although it was -7deg outside and we had over 20cm of snow the night before I just had to get out of the house. So I managed to squeeze in a quick 2hr ride - which after putting on 4 layers of riding gear took me a bit later than it normally takes to get going!

The wheel clearance was zero and constantly needed clearing...

Bottle frozen solid after an hour of riding...

With any kind of ride, there was certainly something unique about riding in these temperatures - with everything being crisp and new. It almost reminded me of riding straight after a thunderstorm when the clouds part and the sun comes out. Having had the crazy weather that we have been having over the last couple of days, the road surface heading to the trails were quite slippery and I managed to have some close calls before I got to the trails through the woods. Once I hit the trails the riding became quite difficult as the snow was still quite thick in places and the low-lying areas were like driving through a big icy cocktail with loads of crushed ice cubes! A unique experience... What was really difficult was the hour long route through the forest in the thick snow - it was similar to riding through kilometers of slippery mud, just colder! (It reminded me a bit like Sabie forests!)


The effects of the snow were the same on the bike as mud, in that all the moving bits got clogged up (and a bit frozen). I still got to find a solution for my bottles freezing up after an hour of the wind chill!

But with every ride the end result was well worth it. The views through the woods were so peacefully quiet. Snow has the ability to make things very quiet - it almost seems to sound proof things in the forest from the outside world.

And the views were well worth it...
In the woods, when there is nobody to hear, mountain bikers make lots of noise!!

On the home-bound stretch...