One of my favourite parts of winter riding are the trips through the woods. I often do these trips in the dark with lights. Most of the time I ride around 6 or 7 o'clock at night on the way home so I met the rare person walking their dog or someone just taking a second to have a peaceful moment by themselves.

One ride that comes to mind was one I did about 3 years ago at 2 o'clock in the morning. It was well around -15 celsius but the river hadn't frozen over completely yet. I recall going by a flock of geese that were hidden in the woods near the river. As they heard me coming they took off and landed in the water. I can still vividly recall the sound of one particular goose "yelling" at me as I went by. He/She wasn't pleased AT ALL with their cold awakening.

Of course this was later balanced off by the sudden adrenaline rush of almost going swimming just before I reached the pavement for the last little bit home.

~Jamie N
www.bicycletouring101.com