Dry January My Arse!!!
Wet Winter Riding
Dave Newman
First there’s the poor folk up t’norf and in Scotland suffering floods, then the irony sooooo many people are talking about, 'dry January', and to crown it all, apparently we are in mortal danger if we are in a room with an open bottle of wine.
Not a great start to the New Year.
What to do to feel better?
Go for a ride, of course.
I’d treated myself to a new pair of boots. They purported to be waterproof.
Proof was required. In my experience, the only reliable waterproof boots were either Derri or Wellie.
As ever I am wrong, which is a good thing, as they cost a pretty penny.
We headed for the Green Lanes of Kent. Everywhere is so wet we thought that discretion would be the best part of valour and so avoided the steeper chalky descents. Recent rides had shown that only ice racing tyres would work on steep, wet, off cambers made of chalk. Whilst tempting, they would probably be of less use when going home on the A2.
Our choice of trails, without too much gradient, did not stop us slipping and slithering about. Our bikes are way too big for the task in hand but they are the bikes wot we ‘ave got and they surely come into their own in the Pyrenees or travelling across trails in America, where they will hopefully be later in the year.
However, these thoughts were not on my mind as I fought a front wheel that seemed to have completely different ideas to me as to which was the best direction to travel.
Then there was the water. So much water. If some of those bodies of water remain there will be people paying to go carp fishing in them.
As we headed back darkness overtakes us and the last few miles of trails are done in the dark, always an interesting experience.
Back at the rendezvous garage, we refill our tyres with air and wash off number plates before heading home.
The next day there were a few aches that I hadn’t felt for a while following a ride, this is another good thing, but not as good as the first one. Dry feet, if not a dry January, is a wonderful thing.
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