It doesn't happen often, but temperatures will drop into the teens and snow does fall in Dixie. And when it does, we Southerners have to make the most of it.

Snow hit the Atlanta area last weekend. I got a whopping 2 inches at my house in the city! It was time to build a snow man, break out the sled (well, I had to borrow one from a neighbor) and throw the mountain bike on the car for a trip into the hills to tackle some snowy singletrack.

Peter, teammate Patricia Williams Smith, Floridian Don Nettlow from Team TravelCountry.com, and I met in Blue Ridge about 2 hours north of Atlanta to train and test our winter riding skills. Of course everything froze -- fingers, toes, water bladders and my beard. We had a great time, even though we knew our winter wonderland would melt away in just a few days.

And it did. Forecast for Tuesday: High of 65 degrees. I kinda like that, too.

Great photos, Peter

- Paul