We had snow while Santa was making his run late Thursday and through Christmas Day yesterday. So, naturally, after the presents were opened and the two teenagers were enjoying the fruits of being on the good list and the wife doing her own thing, I left (possibly unnoticed).
With a fresh snowfall and snow still falling, I decided to redo my play for a Strava Top 5 of the 5.3mi segment I described last week. After that last post, I did snag 5th place but I figured I’d have fun and see if I could better that time today. I somehow did get closer to 4th despite the change from dry to wet.
At the end/top of the segment.
This is the same path & tree clearly seen in the previous post a week before.
Photos can be deceptive: as this road, a rare stretch of pavement on this ride, is between 8-10% where I am and as it disappears into the trees it goes over 20% with slush today and corresponding cadence & weighting shifts to keep traction.
In the end, it was less than 20mi and under 2hrs, but a good time in the saddle.
I went out again today before dawn. Much of the snow was gone but the temperature had dropped a bit. While icy pavement helped dictate my routing, including not descending the paved bit pictured above which was icy today, I cut the ride short when I realized I lost feeling in my toes due to my boots not drying from yesterday’s ride. Still, another good time in the saddle.
Sometimes it’s like living in a model train set.
Though I dreamed it would be a Z2 ride, not all dreams come true.
