chriswoody
Legendary Member
- Location
- Northern Germany
Another cold day dawned at minus 12 and after breakfast I donned my layers and sallied forth into another snowy adventure. The snow is still really powdery due to the low temperatures and I had no clue how far I'd get. The first kilometres soon fly by on compacted tracks, I'm running normal gravel tires at very low pressure and they're having no trouble finding grip in these conditions.
The local herd of Highland cattle are enjoying fresh hay laid out by the farmer, their long shaggy coats look warm in this winter landscape.
As I head deeper into the forest and less traversed trails, the going gets harder. The powdery snow is over 20 cm deep and low gear, high cadence effort gets me over the worst of it, but I still have a few moments were I bog down deep in the powder and have to get off and push.
After a sustained effort I arrive in Steddon and ride for a few hundred metres on tarmac and it feels fantastic. It's not too long and I'm back onto the snow and heading down towards the horse paddocks. There are a number of field's in the forest where a large number of horses are kept and the place is often busy with horse riders, but today it's just me and the horses.
A few hundred metres later and I'm down at the Hydro Electric Plant. There is an island in the middle of the river here and the Hydro plant bridges the river on one side of the island. The river normally slows and backs up here in front of the plant and in the cold weather it has mostly frozen over, quite a spectacular sight.
At the plant itself there are a couple of workers using a high pressure hose to try and defrost the ice blocking the grates that normally let the water through. There are some amazing ice formations on the steel work all around.
On the other side of the island, I cross over the lock gates back to the mainland. The view back up the river is no less spectacular than on the other side of the island.
I start to head back up towards home and the first kilometres are back on compacted tracks. I'm soon flying along the compacted snow on the tracks and my legs are glad over the easier workload. After Hamburhen I elected to stay on the main track rather than divert deeper into the forest, the snow is too deep and powdery and I don't have a spare fatbike in my back pocket. The way is still hard going though and I'm being bounced around on the frozen ground, progress slowing.
After nearly 2 hours I'm back home for a hot coffee after 24km of riding on a perfect winters day. It looks like we may only have a few more days of sub zero temperatures, so this may be my last snowy ride this year.
The local herd of Highland cattle are enjoying fresh hay laid out by the farmer, their long shaggy coats look warm in this winter landscape.
As I head deeper into the forest and less traversed trails, the going gets harder. The powdery snow is over 20 cm deep and low gear, high cadence effort gets me over the worst of it, but I still have a few moments were I bog down deep in the powder and have to get off and push.
After a sustained effort I arrive in Steddon and ride for a few hundred metres on tarmac and it feels fantastic. It's not too long and I'm back onto the snow and heading down towards the horse paddocks. There are a number of field's in the forest where a large number of horses are kept and the place is often busy with horse riders, but today it's just me and the horses.
A few hundred metres later and I'm down at the Hydro Electric Plant. There is an island in the middle of the river here and the Hydro plant bridges the river on one side of the island. The river normally slows and backs up here in front of the plant and in the cold weather it has mostly frozen over, quite a spectacular sight.
At the plant itself there are a couple of workers using a high pressure hose to try and defrost the ice blocking the grates that normally let the water through. There are some amazing ice formations on the steel work all around.
On the other side of the island, I cross over the lock gates back to the mainland. The view back up the river is no less spectacular than on the other side of the island.
I start to head back up towards home and the first kilometres are back on compacted tracks. I'm soon flying along the compacted snow on the tracks and my legs are glad over the easier workload. After Hamburhen I elected to stay on the main track rather than divert deeper into the forest, the snow is too deep and powdery and I don't have a spare fatbike in my back pocket. The way is still hard going though and I'm being bounced around on the frozen ground, progress slowing.
After nearly 2 hours I'm back home for a hot coffee after 24km of riding on a perfect winters day. It looks like we may only have a few more days of sub zero temperatures, so this may be my last snowy ride this year.
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