Cycling in the forest, on ice... YEAH!

Jag och cyklarna

On Tuesday 16th April, I am my friend Josia, decided to ride our bicylces early in the morning. We met outseide Willy's supermarket at 06:20 ish... and after a little trouble with helmets and gloves, set off on our adventure.
I thought that it might be nice to venture over to the forest in which there is a nice little lake and dam.
Well, this was the first real time that I had ridden my bike since the first snow in November of last year, and it was clear that I had lost what little fitness had been achieved then.
We made it to the forest and stopped to take photos by the lake that we discovered was still very much frozen.

 

Frozen lake

We then rode through the gate to the field and after walking the bikes UP the wonderful hill, we continued to ride away on adventure.
OK, so I found myself in front, as Josia was busy taking photos while riding, and turned a corner and proceeded downhill. This was a wonderful thing until I realised that there was still ICE on the trail. Maybe this is a normal thing for some people, but I have NEVER ridden on ice before!
Anyway, the ice was soft so with a reasonable speed we both managed to get by it. We proceeded a little further and realised that if we continued on our path it would take a while to get back home and we both wanted to have the opportunity to have some breakfast before going to the office. With that in mind, we turned around and went back the way that we had come.

Riding on ICE on the way back

This turned out to be even more adventurous. There was a near collision on the ice. Josia rode next to me and slowed down at the exact moment that I needed to swerve to avoid sliding across the ice. In order to avoid a collision, I stopped abruptly, and put my foot down... on ice... and then began a little slide. It was fun getting back on the bike :)
The next incident came as I found myself riding in softish sand. While trying to get to the side that was actually more solid, my front tyre slipped, became stuck and I flew off the bike. I was fantastic. The only real injury was bruising received from the pedals or handlebars.
That was one of my best mornings. It is so nice and quiet early in the morning and being out in nature is one of the best ways to start the day. Skål!