OK, so yesterday I went on my first trip (since elementary school) off the asphalt on two wheels.

It was a bit more adventure than I anticipated. I found myself in the center of a frozen dirt road with deep tire ruts on either side of me. The center where I was riding was frozen, slick, and covered with snow.

To either side of the slick hump I was riding on were deep tire ruts. The ruts contained broken ice shards and muddy water from previous car traffic. Not something you want to slide off and fall into. That would have been chilly to slide off and put a foot into - let alone fall over into. It certainly tested my long-dormant bike handling and balance skills - on an unfamiliar bike.

There was one short and steep climb, where I was in the bottom gear going at walking speed. I found myself wondering how you could go so slow and still still be riding. I left a wobbly tire track, and thought my heart was going to explode, but eventually made it up.

After getting past that, the ride wasn't technical. I got onto an old (unpaved) railroad grade - which was also frozen solid. The frozen ground pounded my butt where the railroad ties had been pulled up - there's a dip every foot or so where the railroad ties once were.

I loved every moment. Will be doing this again today.