An unseasonable surprise!

Sun 22 Nov 2009 18:02 GMT

Since our previous blog post we have at last concluded the annual ritual that is firewood. We have 2 sheds full of the stuff now as well as a giant 'Jenga' stack next to the house. I was excused from lumberjacking duties after only 2 days to take up a new post in the office - end of year accounts - don't really know who got the worst deal there; Guy wielding a chainsaw or me squinting at spreadsheets?

So, the wood is ready, the garden furniture in storage, chimneys swept, new snow stoppers on the roof (to stop large slabs of snow sliding onto your head and to keep snow in place for insulation), snow shovels and ice axes in position and snow tyres fitted on the van. We have been in the loft and hunted down hats, gloves, boots and various winter 'toys' too; cross country skis, snowboard, downhill skis, snow shoes and sledges all at the ready. We have never been more prepared for winter. As soon as we'd done this however the weather made an abrupt change and the snow receded back up the mountains!

This time last year we had heavy snowfall, a good few feet that stayed on the ground here in the village until mid April. Yesterday could not have provided more contrast; the sun was shining, the sky blue and temperatures that felt like a summers day. We were quick to push the winter kit to one side and get the bikes out again. We had not anticipated being able to road ride again until spring so this was a gift, a real 'Brucey Bonus'. Heading over the Col d'Ornon, we made our way to the 'Trieves' area and by the time we got to the village of Mens it was 22 degrees C and we were stripped down to summer kit, shorts and short sleeved jerseys. We stayed lowish to make the most of the warmth and rode a great little circuit taking in 3 fairly low cols the highest, the Col de Mens at 1,117 metres. Even at dusk the air was so warm that all we needed were armwarmers. The Col de Mens is a great little col, very rural, very quiet and offering some of the most expansive mountain views around, it's a big favourite of ours and is the halfway point in the ride that some of our guests may know as 'the lollypop ride'.

Today we have had another warm day but a few showers. I spent a several hours in the garden and workshop giving my bike a very thorough (and well overdue) clean and service ready for 'mothballing' until spring. Looking at the forecast for next week however there could be more reports of sunny rides to come - put those skis back in the shed Guy!

Helyn