December 6th in 1917 the Finnish parliament declared Finland independent from the Russian empire, taking advantage of the turmoil caused by the Bolshevik revolution in Russia. A few weeks after that, the Bolshevik leaders recognised this in a
document signed by Lenin, Stalin and Trotsky. During the WWII years, Finland was attacked twice by the Soviet Union. The independence barely survived this, thanks to the great sacrifices of my grandfather's generation. The Independence Day is a national holiday and it was therefore possible to go out for a snow ride in the morning.
It is still possible to get wet, despite the snow.
Even with the Pugsley, the very soft trails were barely rideable.
Outside the trails it riding was impossible, except for downhill sections.
Winter is nice. I think I'll commute to work by skis tomorrow, for a change.
Thanks for the history lesson :) Also, the photos you post are beautiful. Do you only use the Canon S90? If so, I may have to put one on my wish list.
ReplyDeleteSometimes I also use a Canon 40D, but mostly I bring only the S90, just like today. The S90 (or the newer S95) gives DSLR-like quality in a small package. The only situations where the 40D is clearly better is high contrast situations, like sunshine in the middle of the day, where the larger dynamic range and better optics make a difference. Check out http://www.dpreview.com/reviews/Q42010highendcompactgroup/ for a test of the best compacts. The only other alternative is the Panasonic LX5,but it is bigger and has a separate lens cap, a show stopper for me.
ReplyDeleteFantastic photos again Peter! This winter has been quite amazing so far, I wish I had my forthcoming 9:ZERO:7 (can take a bit longer than I have planned) just now...
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