Late November around here means rain and cold, and getting out for a ride in these conditions can be motivationally challenging. After getting thoroughly soaked on a long dog walk first thing in the morning, I figured I’d spend the rest of the day inside in sweats – but then I remembered a trip to Rice Lake I’d taken a couple years prior during a cool, drizzly day and how beautiful it was. That was the motivation I needed.
I packed up the Evasion with hot coffee in an insulated mug, my new-but-trusty Blue Lug sit pad, and an umbrella and headed out of town and over the bridge. Rice Lake is located at essentially the mouth of the Seymour valley, about 12km from my door.
As I got onto the trail that paralleled the river, I noticed how high the water level was so I decided to detour to a river bend spot to have the first half of my coffee.
That was nice for about ten minutes, but the roar of the river started to infringe on the tranquility I was looking for, so I packed up my partially drank coffee and headed towards the lake.
I arrived at the lake and it was just like I was imagining from my previous experience – there was a haze of clouds mixed in with the trees, rain drops across the still water, and a rather profound silence. I had the place to myself.
I set up my pad and coffee and tucked under the umbrella, amongst the trees at the edge of the lake. I had identified this spot a while ago when poking my head in to see the lake – it’s away from the more popular wharf, and I really like the vantage. I ended up sitting and taking it in for about 40 minutes, I think – I wasn’t really paying attention to the time. It was starting to get dark though, so I figured it was time to head home. What especially prompted me to leave was the rainfall warning i received on my phone!
Instead of taking the road descent, which would be a lot faster but would be chilly due to the wind, I decided to take the trails that weave through the adjacent forest. It was pretty dark, but my Edelux lamp did a good job of illuminating the way. The forest was very moody and wonderful with the fading twilight and the foggy haze.
Leave a Reply