I cycled up to the start point for this ride with the vague hope that no-one would be there, and that I could go straight back home again into the warmth. But, once I made it to the top of Reigate Hill I found three nutters (Phil, John and Matt) keen to try their luck at cycling through the snow and slush in the dark.
The snow certaintly added a new dimension to night-riding, and covered over all the potholes and puddles making line choice rather challenging. Much of the mud that had been churned up by horses during the day was now frozen solid, leading to several dodgy moments with tyres tending to buffet off the sides of the lumps rather than climbing over them. But our lights lit up the trails beautifully with all the reflection back off the snow, and it was actually very good fun.
We had a suprise on the way back to Reigate hill when we ran into a pack of about 10 large dogs that chased us for over 300m down the track. Fortunately no-one was bitten, although one dog came uncomfortably close to meeting my front wheel after having darted out from the hedge at the last second.
Only one night-ride left before Christmas now, come out next week and join in the fun on Matt's ride from Godstone, hopefully without the dogs.