A Long Ride

Ah, well, this has been a good week. I did my longest ride yet, 40 miles (in two parts), on Tuesday. It wasn't as sunny as they said it was going to be, it was pretty hazy, and outright cloudy in the morning; but that wasn't a problem, as no sun keeps you cooler anyways, even in the spring. I went to Marshbank Park on Cass Lake, and later did a full circle of Orchard Lake (area map). It's pretty cool out there, some nice homes and stuff, but just being by the lakes was a great thing. And the park was pretty nice too, I stopped there for my break, which lasted longer than initially planned. I figured that since I was out there, I might as well have a look around. I do a little bird watching now and then and saw tons of hawks and vultures (or the same vulture repeatedly), not to mention ducks. There was a little nature trail there (lower right in picture, if you clicked the first link) which I decided to investigate, and I saw two snakes laying on the path, which, even though they were just garter snakes, was pretty cool for a city slicker like me. We hardly have any parks near my house that aren't grassy sports fields, so it was all good.

As far as riding conditions, the main point was that it was quite hilly. Much more so than I'm used to, anyways, because for several miles in any direction from my house it's all mostly flat, and that's where I'm used to riding. It was nice to actually have to work up hill after hill after hill, instead of just climbing one small one now and again. It really makes you appreciate the downhill on the other side, if there is one. It also makes you appreciate having good skill with gear changing, something I have not mastered quite yet. I have the idea, of course, but in actual practice I'll need to work on doing it more smoothly. I also got a bit lazy on the downhills and didn't bother pedaling, which I'll have to discipline myself against.

Although no one leaves comments here, I have had some friends recommend that I update this on my tour. I'm not sure I want to do that. First of all, I plan to stay out of big cities, partly to reduce my chances of being robbed, as well as to save money; and I don't know how well connected the smaller towns are when it comes to internet. I also want to go at this with simplicity being the key concept. I'm taking as little with me as I need, and I want as few obligations as possible; I'm not sure I want the hassle. I may yet decide to keep this blog updated though, I just don't know. It'd be a shame to have it go to waste, unused.