Snow falling on Seymour

Whistler

Lately I have been making the journey from my new place in Langley to Seymour mountain to get a little snow on the tires. I really needed to get out and go for a ride after the horrific weather that we've been getting here in the Lower Mainland and I was rewarded for making the drive North two weeks in a row now! My ride last weekend was good but this week it was so much better despite the weather taking a turn for the worst.

Mother Nature decided to give us the full spectrum of riding conditions, dry wet and then super slick. The first run of the day got me thinking that the beginning of spring must be a lot closer than the groundhog says. The trails were almost to the point of dust dry in some sections and were as fast as lightning. I was thinking that it was time to get the shaded goggles out and ditch the rain jacket when the clouds moved in from the sidelines and reminded me that it is still the winter and I do live on the Wet west coast. We finished off the first lap with dry(ish) tires and were ready to go for a second quick lap before it was lunch.

The parking lots on the mountains are sometimes empty and boring and other times they seem like a reunion hall of sorts. The last few days that I have been to seymour mountain the parking lots have been full of many old friends from near and far. Today the theme of the reunion parking lot was continued when I met up with people that I have not seen in years and others that I met while overseas in Germany who happened to be in Vancouver. All of the social time in the parking lot got in the way of a speedy vehicle recovery for the second shuttle. By the time the second lap was in progress the clouds had decided to dump on us. The sudden precipitation seemed to drop the temperature by a few degrees and before we knew it we were riding up the hill (in a truck of course) while dodging snowflakes.

The second lap, although cold and wet, was anything but miserable. It was the best time I have spent on my bike so far this year. I don't know if it was the company or the race for dry clothes and coffee at the bottom of the hill but something made me ride faster and have more fun than I did on the first lap. The snow made for a great change of terrain and it was so dark it felt like riding in the winter is supposed to feel like. I had nothing left for a third lap, mostly because I'm a wimp, so I dragged myself over to the Lazy Bay Cafe for something warm to drink.

If you get a chance this week, your homework is to go ride a little Seymour mountain (through rain, snow, sleet or hail) I guarantee you'll have fun!