What a great day to ride

February 23, 2022

Let me (re)count the ways

TODAY'S RIDE started well and got progressively better. Here's a recap of the high points.

Not ten minutes after leaving, I came up behind a couple walking on the Millenium Trail. I have friends who walk that stretch pretty regularly and this couple fit the profile so, knowing their habits, I called out "Good Morning!" and their names from well behind them.

My friends. Encountering them was far from a certainty but not exactly random chance either, as I know they haunt this stretch of trail pretty regularly.

I've had the pleasure of riding with them for many hundreds of miles over the past three decades, although we haven't gone out and burned down many miles together in quite a while. We had a pleasant visit, then it was time to move along.

Part of the fun of today's ride was experimenting with Ride With GPS. I've not previously laid out a route in advance, instead simply telling it to record my ride. Today I gave it a route to follow, just to see what was what. At least this time out, it was a pleasant experience: the audible cues were timely and accurate, and it turned off the screen to save phone battery promptly. It has definitely earned a place on the trip.

Another pleasure today was following roads I've seldom if ever ridden. Even though I was never more than 20 miles from home there are still hidden gems "out there" waiting to be discovered.

Much of today's ride was on roads like this: not much traffic, pleasant countryside.

I found the ruins of an old mill, which isn't exactly a revelation since at one time they dotted the landscape far and wide. This one, like many others, is now part of a network of parkland that enclose Seneca Creek.

Inside the mill you can still see the ruins of the machinery. Water-powered mills are the essence of simplicity, yet there's a magnificence to them for all that.

A common hazard for streamside mills is, of course, flooding and flood damage.

Within the park boundaries and surrounding areas there are many miles of trails suitable for mountain biking, but not so much for loaded touring bikes.

I was completely unaware of the existence of this place. There's a sign inside the gate announcing "Not open for public use" so I wonder what they do there.

I put Black Rock Road on today's agenda even though I knew it has a nasty, nasty hill partway along. It plunges steeply down one side of the stream ravine then rears just as sharply up the opposite side. But that's a worthwhile exchange for stretches like this.

Also on the agenda was another visit to my new friend at the convenience store. She recognized me, of course, and was glad of the $5 in change I had brought her.

One aspect of riding in the area I was in today was the mix of long-established homes and much new expansion in the form of housing developments (mid-to-upper scale) and McMansions that have proliferated in the past 10 to 20 years. I didn't waste any photo storage on those, but some of the older places still retain some of the grace and charm they've had for probably 50+ years.

This isn't one of them.

This is, evidently, what you get when your architect uses nothing but a T-square during the design phase. Ugh. And, it's right. next. to. the. road. so it's plainly visible in all its ghastliness.

Immediately next door, however, is an example of a much more appealing (to me) sort of place.

A timeless design, set well back from the road and not ostentatiously bald. The screen of trees is wonderful.

I encountered many more examples of both nouveau-gauche and gracious country squire; only the latter got their pictures taken today.

I had the zoom at maximum for this shot; this place is set waaaaaayyyyyy back from the road, with a giant (horse?) pasture in front.

As the day progressed the weather, which had been pleasant enough at the start, just got better and better. The sky went from overcast to brilliantly sunny, and the temperature rose to nearly 70. My routing strategy worked: by the time the wind (never really more than a pleasant breeze, really) reached its peak speed it was a tailwind, and the afternoon sun was warm and pleasant on my back.

A few other moments made my day extra-enjoyable.

A couple bluebirds flitted past- they're so pretty, and sing such lovely tunes.

A guy in a battered old pickup truck had passed me then pulled over a few hundred yards ahead for reasons unknown to me. His pause enabled me to go by just as he was getting back in the truck, so I gave him a cheery "Good morning" as I went past. A moment later, as he once again overtook me, I was rewarded with a casual country-style "thumbs up" out the driver's window.

A woman at the grocery store where I'd stopped for a sports drink asked where I'd gotten my jersey ("Old Guys Who Get Fat In Winter Racing Team", it proclaims boldly on both front and back. The "sponsorship" logos on the sleeves are for "Spare Tire Ale", and the pockets are emblazoned with "Wide Load".) We had a nice moment of conversation.

While I was waiting at a traffic light, George materialized behind me on his bike. He had been headed the other way when he spotted me, so he'd pulled a U turn to come back and get my story. After our brief conversation we parted ways, and I wished him a good ride. "It will be", came the reply, "and you're part of it!"

I found some interesting structures on some cedar (? or maybe juniper?) trees while I was taking a break. What are they? [Google's image search says these are the chrysalises of the evergreen bagworm moth.]

My guess is that these are cocoons of some sort.

Some of them appear to have either been raided, or the occupant may have already emerged.

And finally, this: at a momentary rest break I wandered up a small path and noticed an unmistakable sign that spring is on the way:

The first tentative bud is slightly open. Sadly, the next several days are likely to convince it that it's a bit premature, but it was great to see it today.

All in all I covered 35 or 36 miles, depending on whether you believe RWGPS or my cyclometer. It took a total of six hours, of which a third were spent resting or otherwise not moving.

What a great ride!

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