Friday, June 8, 2012
Out of state company coming to stay at our house for a few days, wanted to get a ride in before they came. Started at 9:22AM, our goal today, 20 miles . To Dighton , then down 17 mile RD, before heading home. It was quite cloudy and in the 60's when we started our ride. We each had a light jacket on and a slight wind to keep us cool. According to weather man, the thermometer will get to 80 today.
The smell of wild roses filled the air on 190th Ave. I stopped and took a picture of the pink profusion, unfortunately, it didn't turn out. Hopefully they will still be blooming the next time we pass by. Had our snack and a little rest at church, then continued on our way.
Went past the horses on 17 Mlle Rd. and was surprised to see a billy goat grazing with them.
We stopped to take some pictures, he and a few of the horses came up to the fence to see us.
Although there is no pond in the area ,this big snapper was ambling along the road. Wonder where he is headed? Whenever I see a turtle, especially on land, I can't help but think how prehistoric they look. Like something from the dinosaur days.
After we took our last break, the sun warmed us enough to take our jackets off. The mountain drive button hasn't come yet, so we worked harder on the hills today. Tony had to push Rollin and I, up the 2 largest ones.
When we got home, our friend was there. She is dear to us, someone who has been in my life for 45 years. We only see each other once a year, so we treasure the time we have together. On todays ride, Tony and I accumulated 26 miles, putting our total for the week at 86 miles.
When we got home the mountain drive button had come, so after lunch, I set to work trying to figure out how to get it on. The directions were a bit confusing, plus I tend to make things harder than they need to be. After a call to the Hostel Shoppe, Scott, their master mechanic, walked me through the process, and I had it on in no time. However, I didn't have the right size allen wrench to tighten it all the way. A friend of mine told me, the button can come off easily, if not tightened on with an allen wrench. He lost 5 before he figured out why. We decided, we will begin carrying at least one extra, and will order another one to take along to PALM. We will need our mountain drive, there, for sure.
Saturday June 9, 2012
Our guest wanted to sleep in today, so we decided on a morning ride to the Tustin Hardware store for the allen wrench we needed. Sunny and 15 MPH winds from the SW, it was probably about 70 degrees when we started riding at 9:30 AM. What a relief to have the mountain drive button back on. But since it hadn't been tightened down with the allen wrench yet, I was careful on bumps. Tony checked a few times to make sure the button was still with us. We usually hit the mountain drive at least once before we get to a paved road, and then again on the big hill on 155th. Those are the 2 places Tony had to push Rollin and I up, yesterday.
When we rode past the Amish farm, 3 children, the girls in brown dresses and white hats, and the boy in his light blue shirt, dark denim trousers, with suspenders, were out, playing with 2 bunnies. The brown rabbit we had seen a few days ago was there along with a black and white one.
Stopped in LeRoy at the bank, then got on the White Pine trail. No critters on the trail today, although the cry of a red tailed hawk greeted us as we rode near a meadow. There he sat, at the top of a tree, looking for prey, in the field below.
Miles go by so much quicker when the terrain is flat or just a gradual incline. Today was no exception. We were in the Tustin Village limits shortly. Had to wait a bit at the hardware store, but got some help locating the metric allen wrench that I needed. After paying my 41 cents to the clerk, I went outside and finished tightening the mountain drive button. I'll keep the extra button and the tools in my on board, tool kit.
By now it was getting quite warm. The breeze and shade were welcome as we meandered our way back towards LeRoy. Stopped in the shade, ate our trail mix and continued on our way.
I thought I saw a turtle ahead, stopped to get my camera, it slipped out of the case and hit the pavement, but thankfully, no harm was done. As we got closer to the turtle, I could see that it was a pile of horse poop. There were many of those on the trail today. I think the Amish may have been using the trail for a bit of Friday night courting. Not sure if horses are allowed, but it is certainly tiresome to be riding along and have so many horse droppings. I was glad we didn't meet anyone and have to ride through the stuff.
Tony was hungry for an ice cream cone, so we headed to Pibbs. Moose tracks was our choice, I opted for a cone for me and a Tony had a dish. After the waitress topped off our bottles with ice and water we got back on Rollin, and headed for home. The heat radiated up from the pavement and few trees, along the road, meant little shade for us. On the front side of the hills, we couldn't feel the breeze, which made us appreciate it even more, on the downhill sections. We were both sweaty when we finished our 18 mile ride, and happy that our mileage for the week was 104 miles. Our best week this season.
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