Biking the middle of Winter

A few of you know I got a bike early last summer. The plan was to get into shape by biking into work and by riding trails around our house. Tara got a bike as well so we could ride together.

A week after I got my bike, building management (at work) decided to reno the basement, including the shower facilities. No shower facilities for the summer or fall meant no biking into work. And with all the stuff we did around our new house, I wasn't able to get out much around our house during the fall

Yesterday Tara and I headed out to the barn to do a trail ride together. It was a mild day (around 0°C) so we went for a trail ride; Tara on King and myself on my bike.

The ground was a little soft in places and very slick in others. We rode around the quarry (behind the barn). There is a trail that goes all the way around, but we cut through the middle because we weren't sure we were really supposed to be there. It was a blast! Most of it was flat, but there were a few good dips and crests to make things interesting. Going down to the quarry floor (a steep incline, maybe 40° and 15 meters down) was a little hairy, but we made down safe, if a little muddier. Getting back up out of the quarry was harder, but the incline wasn't as steep.

We really had a great time. Tara loves riding horses and I love riding bikes. Although we only went 3.5km, it took us an hour. You can look at our route with this gmap-pedometer.com link.

If the weather stays mild I'll keep going. I figure -10°C will be my cutoff. I'm also going to look at getting studded tires - my knobbies were good for most things but not for the snow-covered logs or rocks. And I transport my bike in the trunk (thank you Volvo for your large trunks) instead of on the bike rack because I want to minimize the salt my bike picks up. Next time we go, we might explore some trails just to the east of the quarry

(For any of you bike fans out there, the bike I bought is a Rocky Mountain Trailhead from Braun's in Kitchener)