I had planned on a ride to Shoreham today but when I looked out the window and saw another heavy frost and ice patches that went for a burton.
After a few cups of tea and a bit of sloth work I was getting twitchy legs so decided to have a quick blast round some local trails on the MTB. Just a short spin of an hour but lots of climbing and pushing it (effort not literally) all the way.
Along various trails and through bits of woodland I saw countless birds fluttering about; a badger who must have been on his way home after a late night as he should have been tucked up in bed by then; three foxes, one of which ran along in front of me for a bit taunting me as I climbed up a steep hill; and best of all a big deer which bounced across in front of me in the woods doing its best tigger impression. It was very bouncy and very graceful.
A super little ride, hard blasting over the horseshoe rutted hard ground. A few boggy sections, notably through ewoks where I had to really nail it to skip across the top of the ruts and little frozen horseshoe shaped puddles. It was like riding on crème brulée as the crust broke underneath your wheels as you passed over them keeping the speed up to avoid bogging down.
A lot of nature and fun packed in to that hour .