Finally

[Bheezy27403_imp]

I used to ride my bicycle to Marietta. Loved growing up there on a farm but don't miss the economy or the weather. But those pics really take me back. Thanks for posting.

[Mandrau_imp]

Way to go as I smile vicariously in Northern Ontario where the temp was minus 30 C this am...

[the Ferret]

I know that's celcius but minus 30 sounds bitterly cold lol

[the Ferret]

Well after 7 days of being trapped by 1/10 " ice and 9" of snow i made a break for it today. Only 35 miles but good night it felt great!

Escaping my driveway



watch out for wheel swallowing potholes lol (this is a small one)



and out on the open road.

[Cormanus]

There is something very pretty indeed about cold, but sunny, winter days. Nice one Ferret.

[the Ferret]

Indeed there is Cormanus. Much like being out riding alone on a rainy day. They each have their own unique beauty.

[emptysea]

When my friends ask me about summer rides, they want to know what I saw. When my friends ask me about winter rides, they want to know how I felt. Ferret's pictures and Cormanus' comment about them remind me that I need to answer the summer question, even if they haven't asked it.

I ride in the cold because I want to experirence winter and because I experience it differently from my two-wheeled perch than in a 4-wheeled box or even on foot or skis. Like deserts and volcanoes, winter is beautiful in its starkness.

[Ulvetanna_imp]

When my friends ask me about summer rides, they want to know what I saw. When my friends ask me about winter rides, they want to know how I felt. Ferret's pictures and Cormanus' comment about them remind me that I need to answer the summer question, even if they haven't asked it.

I ride in the cold because I want to experirence winter and because I experience it differently from my two-wheeled perch than in a 4-wheeled box or even on foot or skis. Like deserts and volcanoes, winter is beautiful in its starkness.

That is almost exactly how my buddy put it a while back.

I just don't ride in cold weather any more, I can't take it.
Your comments brought this to mind:

Nature has many tricks wherewith she convinces man of his finity, -- the ceaseless flow of the tides, the fury of the storm, the shock of the earthquake, the long roll of heaven's artillery, -- but the most tremendous, the most stupefying of all, is the passive phase of the White Silence. All movement ceases, the sky clears, the heavens are as brass; the slightest whisper seems sacrilege, and man becomes timid, affrighted at the sound of his own voice. Sole speck of life journeying across the ghostly wastes of a dead world, he trembles at his audacity, realizes that his is a maggot's life, nothing more. Strange thoughts arise unsummoned, and the mystery of all things strives for utterance. And the fear of death, of God, of the universe, comes over him, -- the hope of the Resurrection and the Life, the yearning for immortality, the vain striving of the imprisoned essence, -- it is then, if ever, man walks alone with God.

-Jack London, The White Silence, 1899

[Nortoon_imp]

When I take my daily walk on the local nature trail there is a stand of tall pines with red bark that catch the sun. I stand looking up at the glowing bark and green needles against a background of bright blue sky and image that is summer.

I am thrilled to see a squirrel. A sign of life in a frigid white world.

I stop beside a short run of rapids on the Jock River and close my eyes. Hearing the rustle of water with my eyes closed makes it seem like early spring when the river frees itself from its icy prison.

Winter did not bother me when I was busy going to school, to work, playing hockey and broomball. But now that I am retired, I hate it because I can not ride my bike, go fishing, or run my trains outdoors.

[Cormanus]

Brilliant, Nortoon. Saw this Canadian prank this morning too, http://www.abc.net.au/news/2018-01-19/ca...da/9342724