14 degrees farenheit this morning. Snow falling. At 6:00AM, it was still dark. Tights, knee warmers over the tights, two pairs of socks, booties, 2 shirts, a fleece, a raincoat, a t-shirt cut to go over the head, helmet, sunglasses, and some big ole' gloves. Still, I'm cold.
Singletrack on the edge of the Cumberland plateau. A bigger snow cloud moves in above, and the flakes get larger and less spread apart. Snot, boogers, and spit are matted to my upper lip, and my hands are going numb. Mud is frozen around the sidewall of my tires. The rear dérailleur has stopped shifting entirely. Misery.
Then the sun comes up over the plateau. Orange and glowing. Every twig has a twenty foot shadow. The snowflakes light up like fireflies. It's still freezing, my hands and feet are still numb, and my face still stings - but, for a brief moment, looking at the sun rising behind those flakes, alone in the woods, in complete silence, I love winter.
Singletrack on the edge of the Cumberland plateau. A bigger snow cloud moves in above, and the flakes get larger and less spread apart. Snot, boogers, and spit are matted to my upper lip, and my hands are going numb. Mud is frozen around the sidewall of my tires. The rear dérailleur has stopped shifting entirely. Misery.
Then the sun comes up over the plateau. Orange and glowing. Every twig has a twenty foot shadow. The snowflakes light up like fireflies. It's still freezing, my hands and feet are still numb, and my face still stings - but, for a brief moment, looking at the sun rising behind those flakes, alone in the woods, in complete silence, I love winter.