Off Season Silliness

I've been injured and told not to exercise for 2 weeks. Not the best thing in the world, quite possibly on the list of "bad things in the world", but I am not going to argue.

On Sunday I got to have a bit of impromptu fun in the snow on a sledge. One of the things I love is mountain biking in snow, and last week when I heard it was going to snow at the weekend and I knew I still had a no cycling ban in place, I was rather unhappy. On Sunday, I was over at my girlfriend's parents for a cup of tea, then we were planning on having a walk around Bacton Woods (a very popular place to ride mountain bikes), when her dad suggested getting the sledge out.

So we packed it in the car, removed the 3 inches of snow off her dad's car and headed for Blickling Hall (birthplace of Anne Boleyn). The whole National Trust park was purest white and I pretended I was in Narnia. We spied a little hill in the woods and Rachel's dad went up to get ready for the first descent. Expecting a gentile trip down the hill, I was somewhat surprised when he placed the sledge on the ground, took a bit of a run up and dive onto it for a fast, aerodynamic descent. Next up, it was my turn and I felt somewhat nervous about the standard that had already been laid down. But I went for it.

There was that vital tipping point you get in mountain bike descents where the bike is just about to loose control, so the brakes are needed. I soon went past this, and discovered that your average toboggan doesn't come with disc brakes, nor does it come with a suitable method for steering! It felt "interesting". But I liked it, and I am sure it helped me sharpen my descending.