Christmas Tree Expedition

What fun today! The best way to go fetch a tree for Christmas.

After a quick cross country ski around the lake, Daryl and I hopped on a snowmobile and headed for the woods. The snow was awesome as its been snowing all day long so it was a thrill to drive a snowmobile.

We selected a nice looking tree and together we mastered the chain saw and down it came.

We towed it back behind the snowmobile and then I got cutting with the handsaw to chop it down to size for the bar.

Once it was up all the staff came down for a few cocktails and decorated the tree and the bar for our Christmas here. No lack of decorations- I tested about 20 sets of lights!

I even have a set of lights in my room now!

I'm not one for getting all Christmassy normally, but standing outside this log lodge, in twilight with the snow falling like crazy and soft smooth white stuff all around is pretty magical.

Heli assisted ski touring!

I started today in the dark at 7am, down on the Lake cross country skiing and watching the sun ride over the mountain. Only my 2nd try at this here and much better this time around! Even getting quite fast. I did the tour de lac in about 1 hour and came home for breakfast and lots of skype calls with the folks back home in UK.

Jason from Kokanee helicopters dropped in to the lodge at lunch time park is helicopter for Xmas so he gave Cliff and I a lift up to Crane Pass. The views at the peak of the ridge were awesome- a white winter wonderland as far as the eye could see.




We looked down at one white bowl of untouched snow below us and dropped in for our first turns on the fresh powder.


With the recent dump of 60cm this week- Descending down into the treeline the powder just got sweeter and sweeter and deeper and deeper.

We skinned and snowshoed back up to the ridge twice to get a couple more runs in then we hit Cinnabar road and the snowmobile track out at about 4pm ish and it was getting dark. We still had around 100om to descend on a fast narrow snowmobile track with trees overhanging each side.

To top that we had our headlamps on and could only see about 3m ahead- tough to avoid trees when you are hurtling down at 30km/hr or more! As the snow got cruddier I took my board off and hiked the last bit out- faster and safer than I was becoming on my board!

We finally made it out to my truck at 6pm- thoroughly knackered but big grins on our faces- what a rush!

Wow! What an awesome day!

Weekend in Whistler

Popped down to Whistler for the weekend to collect my snowboard gear and have a play on the pistes.

It was -15 and pretty icy on the mountain but a dusting of snow (2cm) made for better conditions than I expected. It did not take me long to remember how to snowboard and I got loads of runs in on my own and with no lift lines!

Still it all seems pretty tame compared to the backcountry. Nice to visit but looking forward to going back. I remember how much I like being one of only a few on a run!

Pretty great day on the hill before I drove the 4.5hrs back to Tyax over a very icy snowy Duffy Lake road.

Ice Hockey on the Lake

The lake froze over really thick this week and suddenly after the cold cold storms the sun came out, the ice was solid and so we had an impromptu game of ice hockey in our lunch hour.

Well did I mention I can't skate? It's even more interesting trying to skate with no barriers around the rink to stop you or hang on to and shuffle round. I soon forgot my fear of falling through the ice into a freezing lake though as my concentration on staying upright consumed all my brain cells!

Eventually I got the hang of it enough to join a game and using the hockey stick for support I provided much hilarity to all as I swiped at the puck beyond my reach and skating ability but competitive to a tee I found a way to play be it on the floor or performing an ungainly ice dance.

I ended up flat on the ice a few times and giggling my head off at my inability to stop when I had eventually got a move going!

Ah well it was such fun I intend to work harder and learn to skate even if my hockey might not improve!

Things I miss from home...

A parcel arrived from the UK this week with 2 gorgeous and huge bars of Cadbury's Dairy Milk- oh boy how I've missed you! Thanks Mum!

Yes living here is amazing but there are still some things I miss about the UK....

Cadburys Dairy Milk- they have it here but it does not taste the same! It's true I'm a chocoholic but not so much when I'm here as nothing satisfies that craving like Britich Cadburys!

Tea- they have it here too but it just does not taste like a true cup of Yarkshire brew!

Bacon Butties- bacon here is streaky and crispy, where's the meaty pigs for some yummy back bacon? I do miss my Friday morning bacon and egg butty treat!

Family- well of course I'm soppy but I do miss my neices and nephews, sisters and brothers and Mum and Dad so very much. Can't wait for them to come visit me some time in 2010!

Now back to my Cadbury's - I'm trying so hard to savour it til Christmas!

Cross Country Skiing

So many toys here- we just have to try them all out. Today it was cross country skiing! During the week Cliff and I dragged the trail groomer around on the back of a snowmobile. So we had a very very rough track set.

So Emily and I put on some silly looking shoes and clipped into the extremely narrow skis with much topple factor. We glided off (of a fashion) and then down the first descent and quickly found you cannot snow plough on these things so how do you stop- ah well too late I've fallen over so that stopped me! How ungainly?!

And so it continued - a most inefficient way of travelling if you are as skilled at me. Occasionally I got into a stride and glide then hit a rough patch of ground and I was wobbling and flailing or falling. I can't say I've taken to this form of transport but perhaps I need to persist as it will be the best form of exercise around here during the week.

The Lake had frozen over overnight this week as it dropped to -15c, you could almost walk on it. It was an amazingly quick transformation. But today its melted a little and the ice flows were floating about at the edges. No ice hockey yet.

A beautiful blue sky day- we also went snow shoeing over in Bralorne down to Fish Lake. That was completely frozen still.

Another great weekend playing in the snow.

Snowmobiles and Snowboards

Today we finally got to the ski run! It took 2 days of trail clearance on the snowmobiles last weekend and then another few hours this morning as we headed up again. This time I found some snowboard boots almost my size and a Prior Khyber board and some K2 bindings in the ski workshop. So I set those up and strapped them on the snowmobile.

Heading up the high trail was very tippy as an ATV had gone up and dug out trenches which were now rather hardened with crusty snow plus it was minus degrees with a horrid wind chill. Before too long I'd hit a rut and tipped over on the sled or rather the sled on top of me. From then on I had to stand with my weight on one side or the other just to stay upright.

Quite a few tipping incidents again today and lots of digging people out but Adam had some great techniques and skills to pass on which helped out a lot.

After clearing a few more trees we hit the bottom of the ski run, so we put on our snow shoes and strapped our snowboards on our backs and started following Cliff up through the trees as he skinned up. We went on for a long long time- well at least 40mins or so. The views were awesome and the trees are massively loaded with snow. Eventually we hit a massive windy bit and the snow in your face was like sand blasting!

Cold and tired we quickly tried to eject the snow shoes and don snowboards and put layers on.

Now... I have not snowboarded for 2 years almost and this was to be my first few turns on a challenging run! Adrenalin kicked in for sure. But as we took off in the deep powder it was awesome and I made my first few turns- all going well until Emily fell ahead of me and I managed to stay upright and traverse along to the treeline where I stopped but got dragged over by the deep snow. Then we descended into the trees- woah! Not great to be in tight trees on my first run of the season in deep snow! Lots of falling leaf through.

I emerged out with a few super sweet turns to the sleds at the base with everyone watching. I couldn't believe we were down already after such a long hike up! Ah well so great to have done some boarding at last.

We quickly mounted the sleds and headed down before it got dark as it was pretty cold now.

Great day- pretty tired and cold but happy!

Snowmobile Trail Clearance

After a week moving offices and driving a PC today I get to play in the snow again. My snowboard just arrived in whistler but I can't get it yet so....

I started out with an hour on the snow shoes this morning then we all went out on the snowmobiles to try and get to a ski run on Cinnabar. Cliff, Ron, Jeff and Rose and I headed up Friburg trail rather gingerly as there was no tracks there yet, but the snow was firmer than last week's trip.

We went about 50m before we found the first deadfall blocking the trail and out came the chainsaw. Another 50m and the next tree across the trail... and so it went on until we got to the Pearson trail and we climbed up to clear even bigger trees off the trail.

Eventually we got to the part of the trail that I remmeber from mountain biking and Quad biking is pretty eroded and just wide enough for an ATV to squeeze past, the eroded part is a steep fall straight down a hillside through trees- so you really don't want to fall!

Cliff was ahead of me and he slowed up, looked at it then went for it keeping way to the right and leaning all his weight on that side of the sled, he almost got through but hit a branch and the sled started to tip over to the left, he tried to get off the right but he was tipped with the sled as it flipped over and he rolled over the track on his back and carried on down with the sled as it flipped again and he disappeared down the hillside. I jumped off my sled and ran to check he was not under his sled but he was way down the hill and his sled had dug in higher up thankfully!

He was a little bruised and I started to giggle at him, as you do when you see something awful but awful funny and you don't know whether to be concerned or laugh!

Then we started to try and dig out his sled and upright it to get it back on the trail. This all took at least 30mins of digging, pushing, driving and digging, pushing driving.

Of course then we could not turn around so we had to dig and build a snow bridge to get all of us across. Yow! Scary!
We made it though but not much further til the next big deadfall, we cut this but it was now 3:30pm- just 1 more hour of daylight so we kept on up until we found a bit to turn around on and stopped and had a beer taking in the views of the mountains.

We turned around and headed back down this time much faster and finishing the trail in the light of our headlights. We'd been out for over 3hrs and no skiing today but a lot of fun and hard work on this adventure. My face was glowing with the thrill of being outdoors in the cold cold snow again and the fun I'm having living up here in the middle of nowhere!

Tonight hot tubbing outside in the snow! And tomorrow... back up on the sleds to get to the ski run this time!

Snow Shovelling, shoeing and mobiling!

Well it snowed and snowed and snowed this week. We must have had over 100cm fall and its now up to my knees when I try to walk in it!

Friday as the internet was down due to the snow storms overnight I could not do my work so I went out and shovelled snow for 4hrs until my shoulders could take no more. I cleared about 20cm depth off the whole deck, knowing of course it will be white again tomorrow!

Saturday we decided we'd better restock the fridge in case we get cut off here. So Kat and I drove my truck to Lillooet down some very icy compact snow roads!

It took 30mins to deice and dig out the truck. Then 2hrs to drive to Lillooet cautiously as its my first real drive in this truck in snowy conditions. In fact the muddy sections with deep pot holes were much worst than the smooth ploughed swnowy roads and hitting them at speed I fish tailed all over the road! At one point a logging truck was coming towards us, the road was narrowing so as I started to move to the exposed side of the road I braked sharply to ensure I didn't go on to the narrower section too soon and suddenly the mass of snow on my truck roof fell on the windscreen and all vision was obscured as I tried to remember where the wipers switch was! Kat gasped and I had a brief moment of fear as I could not tell where the sheer drop off the side of the road was either!

We spent 2.5hrs or so in Lillooet getting a meal at Dinas the greek place, then browsing in Fields, Voltz and the pharmacy then in to Buy Low Foods to fill my trolley with lots and lots of groceries to hopefully last me 3 weeks!

On the journey back I packed my frozen food into the snow in the truck bed so it did not defrost and fortunately it took just 1.5hrs coming back as the roads had melted and I was now more confident in how to drive my truck plus I was also getting to know the road a little better now.

7hrs for grocery shopping is a record for me and not one I want to repeat too often so I hope I can make these rations last. I have to say I don't think I have ever had such a full fridge or freezer, I'm more used to popping to the corner shop to buy today's meal 30 mins before I eat it!

Sunday was a bright blue sky day so first I went snow shoeing up the mountain bike trails from the beehive. Sinking deep in this soft soft snow with almost every step, I clambered over fallen trees in quite an ungainly manner with these big tennis rackets on my feet! It was a glorious day and this was great exercise for 2hrs.

When I got back it turned out everyone had been searching for me as someone (still a mystery) had called 911 from the lodge at 9am and when the police arrived (2hrs later from Lillooet) I was the only unaccounted for person! Quite a mystery!

It was also a stark reminder that help is a long way away!

This afternoon I went snow mobiling with Ron. At first it was so tough to turn the machine around tight corners, it has quite a wide turning circle but after a while I got used to the need to lean and to prepare for a wide corner. It's amazing how easy it is to get stuck in the soft deep snow we have right now, these machines are heavy especially at slow speeds, they need to go fast and it was fun to start speeding up on them.

Another great weekend full of adventures and new experiences!

Oh my word so much snow!

Overnight an incredible 30-40cm fell and this morning we started snow ploughing and shovelling snow for the first time. Here's my truck starting to getburied. It's only mid November and there is loads of this powdery stuff!

So much snow in fact that Whistler has declared its going to open 2 weeks early. I'd better get my snowboard kit sent over ASAP!

Oooh its so exciting!

Quad& Snow= 4 x the fun!

Today we went ATV'ing in the snow- it was pretty damn deep and we tried to get up to Taylor basin but only got half way up the road before we were just spinning out even in 4WD, so instead of climbing up to the alpine where the snow is sooo deep, we headed back down the yellow trail from the logging area and then up the blue trail Around the Lake then down and along Friburg.

As I'm the only one who knows the trails around here I was leading most of the time. Seems weird as the others are Canadian and more used to snow and more used to ATV's! There were occasions when I thought I'd gone the wrong way as the world looks oh so different when its white! But we were on the right track. Often the doubletrack I was used to had become just singletrack due to the trees and bushes at the sides now so weighed down by snow on their branches and bowing down over the edges of the track so much so that we had to drive over them.

It was great fun skidding around for 2-3hrs and we all came back with grins on our faces after our first real play in the snow and having had such awesome scenery to view from up there. Another great day!

Here comes the snow!

Well I've been back 1 day and overnight this happened. Yes my truck looks pretty dirty now but also there is a good sprinkling of snow everywhere- I drove around on it to test my drivimg skills in the snow and ice, Slaloming around the parking lot and slamming my brakes on. Pretty pleased with this truck so far!

Of course before I came up I prepared myself for winter and a trip to Canadian Tire to kit my car out with emergency tools such as:-
Booster cables
Tow rope
Shovel
Flashlight
1st Aid kit
Air compressor
Slime for fixing flats
Coolant for -46 degrees C
Windshield washer for -46 degrees C
Fleece blanket
Scraper and brush
Webbing cinch straps

plus now I always carry me sleeping bag and some food and drink with me.

So I hope I'm prepared for any eventuality up here- as there is no cell service so if you have an issue on the roads around here you are on your own so you have to be self sufficient!

Remembrance Day

So today I wore a Canadian poppy and remembered my Grandfather who fought in WW1 on the Western Front and was mustard gased to such an extent that he suffered for the rest of his life. I wish I had met him.

And I remember out of respect for my Dad who was in the RAFVR in Africa throughout WW2, and proudly wears his campaign medals today!

The Canadians have a day off for remembrance day unlike the British and it was wonderful for me to see as I drove through North Vancouver after observing the 11am 2 minute silence that so many people were attending the laying of the wreaths in the remembrance parades here. Incredible and long may it last!

After that I drove my first long road trip in my new truck- up to Tyax some 400km and 6hrs of driving from Vancouver to Lillooet over the Duffey road which was quite a winter wonderland as I climbed over the pass, with people up there going tobogganing and skiing already!

I gassed up in Lillooet and headed along Road 40 in a hurry to get to Tyax before it was dark- days are short now. As dusk fell and I could just about see the way along this narrow, potholed, exposed forestry road and climb up to Tyax Resort.

At Tyax all the staff were having a get together and a drink in the bar so I immediatley joined them. What a great welcome!

New Truck!

No this is no Tonka toy - it's the real thing! And its all mine!

No sooner had they granted my work permit than I was off to shop for trucks and this is my new beauty. A 2003 Ford F150 Supercrew Lariat 4.6L 4WD gas guzzler!

Yes it looks like overkill in Vancouver but just wait til I get this baby into the backcountry roads and the deep deep snow! Even I can't imagine needing so much vehicle but I'm sure this winter will teach me otherwise.

I was so excited to collect it today, its such fun to drive, you feel so high up and so solid but it handles really well. Tomorrow I get some Winter tires/tyres for it so it'll grip the road solidly when it gets icy and into the many minus degrees!!

Back to Running

I've been here for a few days and need some exercise. No bike with me so I need to run again but....

Well I may be fit for cycling and my heart and lungs are in pretty good condition, my legs are certainly strong but running? Uh nah! My legs did not like that at all!

Apparently I have not run since Jan 27th according to my Nike Plus record. Then I started riding my bike and I've pretty much ridden 6 days out of 7 since then with a couple of weeks where I've had a few more days rest than that due to travels or other adventures over here.

I ran fairly slow and gently along the flat beach front but the eccentric contraction of my quads as I pounded the pavement was really hurting. I realise in cycling you never really get that braking force of running- yes it really really hurt and I walked around like an old lady for the next 2 days- having to hold the bannister to walk downstairs or push up on armrests to get up from sitting- anything that involved my legs being bent more than 45 degrees hurts!

I took a gentle run the following day at Crescent beach which was so scenic. And then after a rest day I did a 30min shuffle run today. My CV system is not being taxed but my legs are still suffering. Perhaps a little less today but hopefully that will soon subside and I'll be back on form for regular runs or snow shoeing sessions!

Flagpoling

Today I went to the US/Canadian border to "Flagpole" and get my work permit for the next 12 months.

I drove down to Peace Arch on highway 99 parked my car at the Canadian office and walked across to the US border. After a short wait in the queue the officer there gave me a form that said I was flagpoling and I walked back over to the Canadian office to apply for my permit.

All my paperwork was in order and I paid my fees in cash and waited 20mins while they reviewed my application then with a sigh of huge relief I received my permit neatly stapled into my passport. Yeehaaa! I now have work, food and accomodation for another 12 months here.

I'm looking forward to my next adventures. Now I have a huge list of things to do in the city before I return to the backcountry remoteness once more!

Wings- mmmmm!

Met up with cowboy Brennan today to do some Truck test drives and take a walk on the beach- we had lunch at my favorite kinda restaurant. MMMMM! Chicken Wings! And they were awesome! Sitting out on the patio next to the beach looking up to the mountains and eating honey garlic wings and yam fries- what more could I ask for? (Well lots actually biut this'll do for the moment!)

White Rock

Yes it literally is a White Rock! This is the beach where Dennis and Marion live. We went running along the front it's so beautiful to be by the sea despite the hordes of people on a glorious November Sunday. Aparently they painted the rock white to show boats where the shore was when navigating at night and the town became known as White Rock. So there you go- lots of stuff makes sense here!

Shannon Falls

Shannon Falls- we stopped off here on our way down to Vancouver this weekend- there's a lot more water flowing than the last time I came here. Pretty awesome! Maybe a good place for ice climbing in the winter? We'll see about that I hope.

What a Difference a day makes!

Well considering I got back at 6:30pm from a ride- I woke up at 7:30am to this! Wow about 10-15cm of snow fell overnight and the lodge looks gorgeous. A forecast of what is to come perhaps!

Fall ride- is it the last?

Today I was itching to get out there and ride it was calm and dry but a little chilly. I rushed out at 4pm and rode the usual Friday tour from Friburg to the Lookout and down to Gun Creek road- it was so beautiful I did not want to stop so I carried on down to Pearsons and to Mowsons Ponds. Look at the Golden leaves all over the trails- it was like riding new trails even though I knwo these so well. I was speeding along too with no-one to follow and no-one to wait for- great fun, all these trails to myself!

Then I had the haul back up the road- it's steep and long and a slog! It was pretty dark by the time I got back to the cabin at around 6:30pm. Not gonna be many more evening rides from now on. :-(

This was a good one to squeeze in and boy my legs could feel it!

Snow on the Hurley

After a night back in Whistler Dale and I headed back over the Hurley in his truck, there was a smattering of snow in Whistler but as we reached the peak of the Hurley we were driving through about 15-20cm of freshies- fun but a little hairy on the switchbacks. A couple of fishtail moments as the back of the truck was so light.

Tim's Bday = Reunion

So it was Tim's 50th, hence the big family reunion (my adopted family that is). After a big gathering and some flowing alcohol at Tim's last night we headed down to steveston for a slap up breakfast and the boys and I went out for a walk on the dock to see all the fishing boats. So great to see you guys again and play PS3 and American football. Miss ya loads!

UBC

Here's the old gang back together and riding UBC on aglorious Fall day- but missing 1 of are party!

We're missing 1 body!

Hey hey- it was great to get back to Vancouver tonight and meet up with Ken and Dennis, but we are missing 1 person- Pete where are you? We have a Sleemans and a bar stool ready and waiting- get over to BC now!

It's been a couple of years since we all rode together in Canada and everyone has had life changes. Dennis has moved from Calgary to Vancouver, I was made resundant and came over here to play and hopefully stay, Ken has moved from UK to Portland and Pete is sitting in the UK enjoying some time off since his redundancy. There's more change to come but it's funny it all happened in the same year for all 4 of us!

So after a few beers we went riding round UBC, just gentle mountain biking but so beautiful in the fall/autumn colours and great to have Tim, Mike and Warren out riding with us too.

Good laughs and great company.

Fall in Whistler

So I needed a break from Tyax (can you believe I said that!). Well i had been there for 3 months when I expected to go for 6 weeks!
My hair was getting too thick and long and a touch of cabin fever was starting to hit. Once my friends had left it seemed a much lonelier place to hang out despite the awesome scenery. What's that saying "Happiness is only real when shared!" Hmmm.

So here I am in Whistler again. It's not quite the same either, the bike park is shut and most of my friends gone too but there are a few left and the trails outside the park are just as awesome as ever and a little more challenging when damp from the rain.

So I've been out to ride all the Lost Lake trails, then Emerald Forest to River runs thru it to Bob's Rebob to the new "Get Over it" trail. I also decided to do a long mileage trail not so technical or adventurous but to get the legs really spinning and heart and lungs working. I rode the Sea to sky Trail from Whistler village along the valley trail to Function Junction and then thru teh Olympic Village at cheakamus crossing and onto the gravel trail. I rode down to teh Cheakamus suspension Bridge and then as far as I could towards Brandywine Falls where the trail seems to disappear so I gave up and came back. Glorious fall day and nice to get the body really moving.

I feel refreshed pedalling in a different venue again and with a new haircut and some new winter clothes to wear. It's been a good week but now my thoughts are turning to the "What Next"- "Que sera sera CK- wait a bit longer and see!"

Meanwhile Vancouver for the weekend! Yay!

Fall at Tyax

So I've had abuse lately for not updating my blog- well my Summer excuse was that I was too damn busy enjoying myself but my October excuse is the opposite- not a lot has been going on- certainly nothing reportable really but here goes for an overview.

Summer was sooo much fun, crazy busy, eventful, hot and sunny, long days filled with lots of riding in awesome scenery and a lot of partying with the best of friends. It surpassed my every expectation by a long long way- but we all know Summer has to end and indeed it has and all that went with it has faded away too.

Not to say that Autumn (or Fall as they say here) has been bad - but it has slowly brought back the realities of life and new decisions to make. The weather has changed and my body is burnt out from so much riding, so I have not ridden as much.

The focus has been on the last few parties of the year, as we celebrated birthdays and then we said sad goodbyes as 1 by 1 they all left for their next phase of life whether planned or unplanned. For me its a waiting game to see whether my next step will be allowed or whether I'll just come on home.

Unforgettable times this month included Elisha's birthday bash- "A Ridiculous Outfit" party where some outrageous outfits were turned out. Unfortunately coinciding with our sad goodbyes to Judy.

Then Thanksgiving Turkey dinner and a goodbye send off to Chris and uncelebration of Jeremy's birthday.

Thanks giving day saw me head up to Cinnabar on an ATV with Andrew to take in the snowcapped mountain views and breathe the fresh air in deep.

Looking after Dusty the dog and taking him for a long bike ride Around the Lake and a long walk at Sucker lake with Nat on the most fantastic of Fall days, bright and warm amidst glorious colours.

Finally the last staff fling and movie night at Reg's with moose steaks from the moose he'd hunted the previous week- wow talk about fresh local produce!

I'm off to Whistler for a break and some last ditch attempt at riding trails here before the snowy season hits.

Blog Late updates

If you've been following me here you'll know I've been remiss in not writing much.

Well I'm playing catch up now so keep looking below as I post a photo and a quick memory of the last few weeks since I last updated!!!

Sorry its so short and late but at least it will remind me in years to come of all the fun things I've done this year and the great people I've met!

Snow Ride at Spruce Lake

I woke up feeling hot and then cold with the sweats, then I could not eat my breakfast BUT I had to lead a ride from Spruce Lake. I was worried about being sick on the plane and then on the trail and not even making it back let alone getting my clients back.

I slept up in Staff Accom for 2hrs before the ride, the staff clubbed together to all help me, Dale was sorting out sub-guides but no joy, he got the clients all ready, Nat fed me hot lemon honey drinks, Chris concocted some gingerale style potion and made me drink it to settle my stomach.

Then I had to suck it up, grin and bear it and go ride!

Boy was I glad I did! As we descended to Spruce Lake which was surrounded by Snow covered mountains and had about 5cm of snow on the dock. What a thrill to ride fresh tracks around the lake with only cougar tracks and deer tracks ahead of me- I've never seen any cougars up here but here was clear evidence of their presence! Oooh eeeek!

I tried to break trail remembering where all teh roots were below the trails so my clients did not slip and slide over them. Out in the meadows (pictured above) we still had a scatering of snow but the trail was rather clear and was packed hard so really flowing better than ever this sandy summer!

Half way through the ride once we were out of the snow and had pedaled a while I started to run out of energy and my legs turned to jello! It was tough to keep myself going at a good pace for the guys in my group. But to be honest towards the end the clients were more knackered than me. I was glad to see Dale in the van for our ride home. It was a great ride but I was seriously exhausted now.

I spent the next day in bed most of the day, snoozing and watching movies by a log fire, just going out for an hour or so for a walk with Dusty, JJ's dog.