Trailblazing

11 miles
44 degrees

I got my rear wheel repaired this weekend on my Mountain bike so today I thought I'd try it out and head over to Riverfront Park. I love riding through Riverfront Park because there are so many trails to choose from. The problem with Riverfront Park is that there are so many trails to choose from. What I mean is that some of the trails are not very well maintained or even clearly marked. But I'm mountain biking so what do I care. I started on one of my favorite trails and had a blast. The trail was somewhat slick with wet and decaying leaves so it was a bit tricky at times and I did slide a little. When the trail hit the pavement I turned off and looked for some smaller single tracks. The single track trails that I found were not frequently traveled and its possible I was the first person on some of them for months. As I pedaled along I kept getting whacked my branches, grass, and shrubs. I felt like I was trailblazing...with my face. Its a good thing I had glasses on. As I fooled around on these smaller trails I realized that I had no idea where I was, and although I knew I could get out of the park by heading a general direction, I was lost. It didn't bother me much except I knew I needed to get back to work soon.

As I was working my way back to the main path, I came flying out of a thicket and hit thick, dry sand. Talk about a shock. I sunk right in and came to an immediate stop. Well, my bike did anyway. I stayed on the bike but it was quite a surprise. After passing the sand, I finally found the main path and started on my way out of the park. As I was leaving I found a trail that I thought I had ridden before that I thought would take me out. It did but not without it's surprises. It was a smooth, wide trail so I really flew down the trail. Up ahead I could see the river. The river got closer and I couldn't see where the trail went. Closer and closer and I still couldn't see which direction the trail was turning. Then I see it. The trail had been washed out by the river. I stopped just in time. If I'd kept going, it would have launched me 15 feet into the river.

I quickly turned around and found another trail that I was sure was going to take me back. The trail narrowed, then it closed in around me. I found myself ducking under a canopy of thick brush and trees, dark leafless trees that reminded me of Sleepy Hollow. Its was kind of creepy but definitely a fun ride. I came out of that thicket, connected with another trail and finally burst out of the woods onto the road. Time to go back to work. Bummer!

After I got back to work I looked at my bike computer. I'm up to 2999.4 miles on my mountain bike and will turn over 3000 miles on my way home today.