This January has seen us have to call off so many cycles, whether due to ice, snow or high winds. We only got a handful of rides in, so were spending a lot of time on the turbo trainer in the land of Zwift.
With snow thick on the ground for a week, Colette and I went out for a walk, deciding that it might be an idea to look out the kids’ old sledges and have a go down the hill as an alternative to cycling. Son Oliver and his partner Kirsty joined in and found it a lot of fun. Then Oliver decided to dig out his skis from the basement, last used when he did skiing with the high school. We made a date for the next day to try them out on a hill nearby.
The bike could stand up by itself in the snow!
I also got my mountain bike out and decided to join them on two wheels. It was actually quite safe to ride on the virgin snow, although further into the village where it had been flattened by cars and frozen into icy ruts, it was more tricky. Luckily we were heading away from that into fresh snow.
At the top of the hill, we tried out the sleds first. That gave an exhilirating, though bumpy and bruising ride to the bottom of the slope. The child-size sledges were not ideal, so we should remember to buy a bigger one for next year.
Oliver got himself into skis for the first time in maybe 12 years and set off down the hill, not really sure how it was going to turn out. But straight away it was clear that he hadn’t forgotten a thing – like riding a bike, and he sailed off gracefully down the hill; not straight down, but more diagonally, tracing a wide arc with his skis. With a shout of delight after coming to a halt on the plateau below the slope, he was instantly thinking about booking up a skiing holiday!
Colette looking the part, ready for action
The other three of us were novices, but still took a couple of turns each on the skis, just to try it out. My first run wasn’t great, ending up sliding down on my back, but on the next go, I managed to stay upright, just, and got as far as the flat ground, rapidly approaching an array of frozen mole hills sticking out of the snow. I managed to glide through miraculously without hitting any, then executed something resembling a turn before it all got too much and I fell over in a tangle of legs and skis. It was good fun, and if it wasn’t for the overwhelming feeling of being totally out of control, I would have gone for another try.
However, I had brought my bike with the intention of riding down the slope, so I trudged back up the hill to try that. Through drifting, the snow had got quite deep in places, where my front wheel had a tendency to get stuck. The answer was to sit back with my weight behind the (already lowered) saddle, to take as much weight as possible off the front wheel. Then it was a case of just letting yourself go and hoping for the best!
It was fast and great fun, though possibly I wasn’t a lot more in control than on skis. I had a couple of shots and would have done more, but that slog of dragging the bike back up the hill (there’s NO WAY I could have ridden up!!!) was taking its toll.
Heading home for coffee
Then it was a short way back to the house for some hot drinks. It had been an unexpectedly fun afternoon, but sadly not to be repeated as the snow melted the next day. We will be ready for the next time though…