We should be skiing but when December gives you lemons, ya gotta make lemonade. 'Bent and I rode trails in Palgrave East. Much of the double track was covered with 1 cm of soft snow and ice, so caution was essential. I had a near wipeout on a particularly slick corner, and my winter bike shoes didn't unclip quickly because they're loose. I'm not excited about these shoes; they're men's shoes that don't fit me well, and they're really not that warm. I'm interested to see 'Bent's fancy new
"Arctic" cycling shoes from MEC. Fortunately, I made the save and stayed upright this time.
Since it was +3C, where there was no snow, there was mud - sometimes a *lot* of mud - so we had to be careful where we went to avoid causing damage. Much of the purpose-built single track was too soft so we stayed off it. I guess we should have ridden first thing in the morning but we took the pooches to a friend's fenced 20-acre farm to try to wear them out. It's like having toddlers sometimes!
Some Palgrave news... The mystery Christmas tree near the abandoned parking lot is accumulating more decorations every time I see it, including some awesome homemade ornaments made from old bike chain rings. A second Christmas tree has appeared off-trail in a less accessible part of the conservation area. We are inspired to contribute some decorations too. 'Bent wants to add some dreidels in honour of Hannukah.
Other news... The kilometer of Duffy's Lane between the TRCA parking lot and Finnerty Sideroad is always "closed for winter" but in reality, people always drive there and get stuck and slide out of control in a remote area with a steep hill and water with thin ice lining both sides of the road at the low point. This year the town has thrown up big concrete barriers at both ends so we'll be able to use this rolling stretch of country road for running, snowshoeing, skiing, intervals, etc.