Hot Cocoa Rides - January

I have thing for hot cocoa and I've come to the conclusion that I drink too much.   So to slow myself down a bit I've been following the following limitations: I get to indulge in hot cocoa only when I'm outside, on a bike ride, heated with my wood stove (no cheating and heating it over the stove at home and then putting it in a vacuum bottle for a ride).

To that end I've decided that a post documenting hot cocoa rides is in order. 

You see, bike rides can just be grab-your-bike-and-go, and usually I'm entirely happy with that. But lately I've been getting back from rides wishing I'd done this or that little extra thing to really make the ride into something a bit more.  I love to bum around in the woods (with bike or without), play with fire and just do woodsy stuff.  I just need a kick in the pants, sometimes, to get me out the door.  Hot cocoa is the dangling carrot that gets me out the door if I need a little extra motivation.

If I plan it right I can just have everything within reach of my chair so I can sit there and have everything I need  

A few scoops of snow made enough water for a small mug of cocoa.

It didn't take long to go from snow to boil.

Just for fun this is what the stove looks like with the pot off (with the windscreen still on)

This was right at sunset and, though most of the forest where I was was in shadow the tallest trees still had the golden-last-light on the tops

Going out for bike rides with Jenny make me happy, and it worked out for us to go out at night, when the moon was full enough that, though it wasn't yet up when we left, we were able to turn our headlamps of and  ride for about half of the  distance.  I also love riding at night with my headlamp off so this was a REALLY good ride.

Rode out, made hot cocoa near a babbling stream, chatted, and rode home.

We had about a solid week of above freezing weather.  It was up in the 40s one day.  In northern Wisconsin in January.  That doesn't happen every year.  Anyway it's back below freezing now and when I went out for a ride this afternoon the trails were frozen hard but, surprisingly, not very icy.  Usually on a weekend with weather in the 20s and sunny the snowmobiles would be out in legion.  I only saw two today.  I suppose riding an ungroomed, rutted, nearly rock-hard trail would be no fun on a snowmobile.  But it was fine on a bike.  I rode to  a spot nearby that has a big daddy white pine and set up to have hot cocoa under it.  Like when Jenny and I went out a couple of weeks ago it was right near a creek and I was hearing the creek talk the whole time. 

Right here there are quite a few springs on the sides of the creek.  Because of this the banks are unstable and trees fall over a bunch.  They're kinda blocking the view of the water here.

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My trusty steed leaning against a white pine that was probably too small to hold the interest of the loggers who clearcut this area back in the 1800s

Hot cocoa heated over wood, next to a babbling creek, under a huge pine, no bugs, with my bike next to me.  I suppose things could be better but not a whole lot

Packing up the stove: dump out the ashes, let it cool down a bit, put the potstand back in upside down. 

Packing up the stove part 2: put the stove in it's stuff sack and the whole works goes inside the pot.

Packing the stove part 3: put the pot (with stove inside) in it's stuff sack and I've found it rides well on a Salsa Anything Cage.

My seat/backrest rolled up and ready to head home.  In the plastic bag is wood fuel for the stove. 

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