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I am the Walrus...
My sister Jenn had wanted to go for a ride. So did her husband, Sean. But it was Boxing Day. I usually never feel like doing anything at all that day. Really, I felt like a giant obese walrus or sea lion; I just wanted to sleep off the entire sick consumeristic binge we had all just gone through. "At least 16 hours," I thought, "just give me 16 hours with maybe an extra week thrown in". Just then Sean bounded into the den, already partly suited up. I was watching TV, lounging comfortably. "Dennis! Want to go for a ride now?" said Sean. As Brother in Laws go, Sean is the best. Plus I just couldn't help but get inspired at the sight of his cycling jersey which had emblazoned upon it a large snorting bull. Well, that settled that.
Treachery
We all grabbed a quick breakfast and suited up for the weather. It was -4C outside but with little wind. There wasn't too much snow on the ground so the conditions would be ideal for a brisk winter ride. Sean took my GT hardtail and Jennifer had to settle for my old Specialized Hardrock as she had decided not to bring her own Peugot down from Ottawa. I got the Specialized Enduro FSR of course. (Yes, I have three bikes now). After everyone bolted on their own clipless pedals and set up their respective saddle heights, we were off.We all had on our cold weather riding gear and heavy cycling gloves. So no problem there. The icy streets on the way to the first section of local trails were, however, treacherous. We took it easy at first until we all reached the trailhead. On the first short section the previous night's light snowfall provided excellent traction for all of our bikes. 
Fox racing
I led the way into the bush until we reached a great stretch of long singletrack. I was glad to be with Jenn and Sean because they're both experienced riders. So we set a vigorous pace through a silent forest. Soon we began to heat up and our excitable chattering was quickly replaced with the sound of tires crunching into snow interspersed with our breathing. That was when we started getting into the "zone". We rode for kilometer after kilometer, breathing hard, working to maintain our balance and forward momentum in the snow. That was when I saw the world fall away. I felt like I was floating. All fear and anxiety fell away, shedding off like an old adder skin. The crows smiled, and the deer, deep in the bush laughed. The sky turned bright and the illimitable Canadian winter sun screamed at us through the trees, urging us to go faster and faster. At last when I thought I couldn't hold the pace much longer we saw a fox, bounding out of the trees onto the trail ahead, racing us like a dolphin races ships in a far, far ocean.
Enduro magic
We finally stopped, gasping and exhausted. The fox snorted. Disappointed, she bounded off into the shadows of the trail. This is where we took our first set of pictures, with my glasses all steaming. Jennifer kept telling me to smile at the camera. That wasn't hard. Then we all laughed. We grabbed a drink from our bottles and knocked some of the snow and ice from our shoes and pedals. Jenn stripped off her heavy gloves because she was so warm. It's tough to dress in winter. You always overdo it. But better to be too warm than to start getting cold. As we set off for the next stretch in the bush, I couldn't help but think that this is where it all comes together: the hours of maintenance, the fretting over parts and suspension set-up, worrying over which bike to get, making the effort to become one with your rig. Nothing went wrong. Except for the ice and snow jamming our clipless pedals. But you know, that's an occupational hazard, it comes with the territory of winter riding. The next stretch of bush presented us with some problems. A lot of half frozen mud and puddles covered in a sheen of thin ice. The new Enduro's full suspension was amazing here. For a full on trail bike, there's nothing like an active travel set up in the rear. 
Go girl go!
The extra traction ruled the day. Surprisingly, my hammering led to zero complaints! Obviously, I had underestimated my sister, Jenn. She was just like a little tractor, grinding away. Jenn is in terrific shape, cardio wise. And that's what's important. I would strongly urge more women to get into the sport. So does Jennifer. It's really too bad we don't see more women on the trails in Canada. But then it took me years to convince Jenn to just try it. She finally did last summer and came home with this huge smile on her face! She'll never look back. She wants to go for something more technical and challenging next summer now. Right on.
Crazy pace
After another hour's worth of riding, well the inevitable happened. We started getting cold. We all decided to take the roundabout route towards home. Sean took the lead this time and set an insane pace on the way to the access road along the Richard Saunders Dam. I was amazed he didn't wipe out, considering the icy conditions on this part of the trail. Sean is just like that. He can take off at a moment's notice when you least expect him to. I don't know where he finds the energy. He's extremely skinny. Looking at him, you might get the impression that there's nothing there to hold him up. You would be dead wrong. Sean is a man of great spirit. That's where his energy comes from. His intellect, his compassion and most of all his sanity is what is so beautiful about him. If you listen to him speak, at times you'll get the feeling that you are in the presence of a kind of quiet grace. But there's a fire inside him that you never see unless he's on a mountain bike. That's when he can overstretch things a bit.
Hot soup, cold beer Which brings us to the last stretch of our Boxing Day ride. We finally made it to the gravel road along the base of the dam towards home. I tried to warn Sean to take it easy, that this stretch had some icy spots. What's worse is that you can't see the ice underneath the previous night's snowfall. Well, Sean took a nasty spill on a stretch of hidden ice . He was upset, though unhurt. I jumped off my bike and offered him my hand but thing is, he doesn't like to be helped up. He just wants to struggle to his feet and stand on his own. How totally Canadian. He moved around a little bit and then mounted the GT and we continued on down the access road until we came to the end of the ride.We all sprinted on the street to the short stretch towards home. When I skidded up into the driveway my Dad appeared from under the carport. With a grin, all I could think of to say was, "how's it going, eh?". That was when my Dad just laughed and I laughed too. Jenn and Sean and I all swept off the snow from our bikes and put them into the basement to dry out. We all had a huge lunch with hot soup and cold beer, with our noses running and our cheeks still stinging from the cold. That was great.