ice ice baby...

see all that rain we got here yesterday that thawed alot of the snow?,well it all froze last night!!,temperature dropped down to around -4-6C last night and it was a bit interesting cycling along to work,coldest morning yet,first morning i could of done with a face mask,it was really that cold..maybe i need icespike tyres too...

i got away from work mid morning as nothing doing with weather and slitherd home just staying upright on the old dale commuter,an hour later back out on pugsley and what a difference on ice..,still a bit scary but way better grip,i went for a cycle around local woods which normally are a bit of a muddy slog but in this weather bone dry and frozen solid..a quick cycle along a frozen peffersands beach then back into the woods and i rode some trails through woods i havent been on since the same conditions last winter..i love days like this where the temperature never gets above freezing and its really quiet except the shattering of ice and crunch of frozen leaves under your tyres,the low winter sun through leafless woods, then mid afternoon the temperature drops as the sun starts to set and being only a few miles from home your soon back in the heat and warmth having had a nice couple of hours low speed riding in beautiful conditions..pics...


a big old beech tree...

still lots of snow on the lammermuir hills...

snail..bah-humbug....

well the bubbles burst..at least here on the coast in east lothian..i woke to rain this morning..on and off most of the day mixed with hail,snail i believe alaskans call it...though my mate 10 miles inland at the foot of lammermuirs texted saying more snow..back to work tomorrow looking like a commute on the old dale on slushy roads...
milder weather meant my garden hose had thawed so i got the pugsley washed and got the chain cleaned,spent most of day out in the workshop,swept it out while running the motorbike for 15mins to give the battery a charge and fired up the stove to dry out any moisture...

something about stoves..i prefer an open fire in my livingroom for sure but would love an old range in the kitchen to cook on and sit in front of..,
the stove in my workshop is a machine mart cottager i got it free from a mate as it has the odd leak from him having burned it at high temps and the door has distorted a bit...,sometimes it leaks sometimes it dosnt...i got the chimney piping for free..,its 8" stainless instead of 6" but another mate made a reducer...

it dosnt give quite the same amount of draw as a 6" pipe chimney so takes a wee while longer to warm up and draw properly..,but a free stove and chimney pipe cant be knocked..kicks out some heat even in a 30sqm sectional concrete garage...

i sat for an hour or two having a couple of ciders and listening to some tunes..,i look on a workshop/garage as an extension on a home ideally connected then stroll out the house straight into the man cave

boxingday booze`n`cruise trailride

every boxingday for the last few years i have went biking locally having a xmas drink or two...,last year was a beachride on pugsley..this year with snow still lying after a week now i rode to my folks at longniddry along the garlton hills using some of the ridgeroad then greenlanes (old roads) and trails and the odd cheeky bit along sides of fields avoiding tarmac as much as possible..,in 8 miles i only rode 1 mile tarmac from home and a 1/4 mile tarmac between trails...the catch was i had to have a nip every trail i rode...i rode 12 trails!..,this year the hipflask was filled with plum vodka..a present from my brother inlaw ian..ian,,it was really nice and hit the spot...
heres some pics from the ride...




have you ever seen a dinasour painted on a barn before?...










riding home at dusk as the temperture again plummeted..dont worry i was home in time for wallace and grommet...

festive greetings...

so were going to have a white christmas here in east lothian, havent seen this here for years.
last few years i have went a trailride xmas eve,always having got shopping and car fuelled etc a few days before the towns and shops go nuts..,im all stocked up...

this year has been a bit different with the cold snap,i usually dont take many days holiday at xmas and take a weeks hols in november and febuary sometime..i was working a few hours this morning,just checking things ok then home,another snowy commute on pugsley...

was a thaw yesterday then a big freeze last night,around 0 degrees Celsius and not too bad cycling..,i judge the cold when i cant ware my glasses for misting and freezing..,then its cold.., the news said it was -11 Celsius 20miles west up in edinburgh last night..,remember thats a damp -11..,thats cold...
leaving work you could see just how cold it had been last night on everything...



the trails still have deep drifts in places despite a big thaw yesterday and the minor roads that are ungritted are now a nice grippy hardpack...






good to be home midday and days riding done..,fire on..,feet up..,have a few ciders and chill...,this is going on to watch tonight,not much on TV tonight...
cant beat a bit steve mcqueen at xmas...

i always try and get some nice logs to burn on the fire at xmas and new year,last year i had some lovely burning cherry wood,recently i got 3 tons of beach,scyamore and elm logs,seasoned and ready to burn from a friend,then last week i got some scotspine logs at work from a few limbs in the wood,although not dried they will be fine to burn on top of seasoned wood,if theres a smell thats great its fresh cut pine...

like to wish everyone i know and all who read my blog a good festive weekend...