Wet woods
In the last week, we have had large quantities of rain and snow, so not surprisingly, everything was extraordinarily muddy in the woods today. There were lots of puddles, and even some areas were flooded that normally only do that once the ground is frozen. What was more surprising is that it was getting on ten degrees warmer today than yesterday. It had been forecast, but I had found that hard to believe.
I had dug out my long cycling trousers, reasoning that it was the end of November. My companion did better, putting on shorts, although he did mutter about cold water on his legs as we splashed through the puddles. I was very happy that I had worn both my winter waterproof boots and my waterproof shorts. Waterproof shorts seem pointless, but in weather like this they are a Godsend, keeping your backside nice and dry.
The conditions did make it hard going, though. Especially the sand was very clingy, with our nice grippy tyres hanging onto it as they sunk down into it. We took a strategic decision to bypass what is usually the muddiest section of the route. That was definitely the right thing to do, but we did end up going through an area of lots of unleashed dogs. They were not aggressive or anything, but they, and their owners, did clutter up the track, so that we diverted again onto a cycle path. In general, there were an awful lot of people around, especially considering the foul conditions underfoot (and under wheel). I guess that was partly due to the cold and sleet yesterday.
It might have been muddy today, but at least it was better than it would have been if we went out yesterday.
