On Sunday I was up in the Yorkshire Dales for a mountain bike ride. The skies were blue and it was fairly warm in York, but when we arrived in Reeth, the hills were covered in a layer of snow. The first part was ridable and great fun, drifting uncontrollably down moorland tracks. Unfortunately the exposed mountain tops were a different story, a freezing cold wind and really deep snow meant that no matter how hard I tried, the only way through was walking. The views were spectacular but I didn’t spend too much time enjoying them. It got so cold that the only way to change gear was with the palm of my hand, and at the start of each descent I had to stop and warm my fingers enough to be able to pull the brakes! I ended up cutting a big loop off the ride and found an alternative route down some really technical slippery walking trails (shh!) instead, and then doing a big technical climb for a second time so that I still got the miles in.
I was pretty tired by the end, 3.5 hours of pushing through the snow was really energy sapping. A ‘recovery’ drink beside a huge log fire in the village pub was a welcome reward.
Wash your face!