Winter Dichotomy

The Big Freeze (recommended)

The original plan for today had me going out with the cycle club for a big hard early ride, but when I got up this morning the frost was thick on the ground and the temperature well below zero. I don't do well in the extreme cold on the bike so I decided to leave my outing until later in the day, by which time the sun had warmed up the air a bit. I enjoyed a fabulous ride, up the valley to Grassington, over the moors to Greenhow, to return via Askwith, about 40 miles I guess.

In the sun I actually got quite toasty, but in the dips, out of the sun, the air remained brittle cold. Descending into the shaded valley bottoms sent a chill right through to the core. It always felt much better to be climbing back out towards the sun again, generating heat. I just about managed to keep the hands and feet warm until the end of the ride, despite quite a few stops for photography. The light was quite exquisite. I have dozens of pictures that I would be happy to blip. Although I have more dramatic shots, I'm choosing this one because it best represents the day for me. I'm trying to keep in mind the journal aspect of blipping.

Thanks for all your wonderful contributions following yesterday's thoughts. I love the way the comments give a sense of ownership of a journal to the whole community. Your feedback transforms this into so much more than it ever would be otherwise. I will return to your words in a few days, but for now I have to knuckle back down to work. It's just been too beautiful a day to be spending much time at the computer. I have to play catch-up.