Tuesday 30 November 2010

what i learned this weekend

only last week the countryside looked something like this


then the snow came. not a lot of snow but enough i was happy enough to take the specialised out. and even tho the first lesson of the day is that mud tyres are not snow tyres it was okay.

okay that is until i tried to change gear. but why should that be you ask, haven't you had that mech into two separate bike shops on five different occasions? on the grounds you have spatial dyslexia and can't tell left from right? and they've all assured you that your diagnosis - i need a new mech - is the wrong one. yes, yes, it's that bike. the one that always breaks at strathpuffer, the cables freeze and due to some vagary of the bar set up it makes me feel like i've got a broken wrist after about two hours. yes i love that bike.

but even so to be out early doors with blue skies and a couple of inches of fresh powder was something like sublime. even on my now single speed bike coming down the back hill with not even a footprint for company was something special


i figured a couple of weeks of that would be just lovely. and then the snow came. and it snowed and snowed and snowed. and over the weekend we become something like an island as all the main roads were effectively blocked. it was a bit like that episode of the simpsons where there's no tv. people came out walking. we spoke to each other.

they didn't go very far tho. which was fine as it meant me and t had what should have been my daily cycle all to ourselves. (i would've gone out, no really i would've but, as i said to my lbs guy today i need to work my way into snow and thick snow is just a bit much for me. it's tricky, forgrounds all those bits of technique that you lack - and i lack technique in so many, many areas!). and it looked a bit like this -


it was all rather lovely. and got lovelier when we got back, stoked up the fire and i got busy in the kitchen making all manner of tasty goodness including marmalade. which t obligingly converted into cake. perhaps this was what did for her in the end...

10 comments:

Rachel Fox said...

Your very own snow angel.
Nice to see her on here!
x

swiss said...

couldn;t resist it. she looks like she's fallen out of the tree!

kate said...

t looks a little, erm, unconscious. have you gone stir crazy ;)

looks and sounds blimin' lovely. doing something similar but with slightly less snow and small hills.

swiss said...

less snow would be good! am only going slightly stir crazy as we can't use the car or the van as yet and no prospect before at least the end of the week. no great loss there!

but the snow's just too deep for the bike (or me). gave myself a proper kicking on the trainer instead and, while i know it's good for me. it just isn't the same.

Totalfeckineejit said...

That's a cool (sic) lookin bike! And I love readin about your adventures from the comfort of my armchair!

Hope t is ok!

Titus said...

Great post! Great Angel. Of The North.
Love the bike worship photo as well...

swiss said...

yesterday, after yet more snow, she tried swimming.

failed, but tried. many times. and you have to admire her for that.

Marion McCready said...

"yesterday, after yet more snow, she tried swimming." - you have no idea how much I laughed trying to picture this, what a girl!

TuanMudaKalsel.Com said...

nice to viisit your blog...

swiss said...

and nice to have you visit