Unfortunately the ride at the lake doesn’t look like this. The picture is from last years Maah Daah Hey trip (pictures), but the bike is still the one that gets me around. I figure that this year I’ll have logged over 10,000km on this bike since I purchased it in 2000.
This morning it’s overcast and a little cool at about 20C, a nice temperature for a ride. I went over to Rushing River Provincial Park which is just under 20km, but this is not the flat road riding of Manitoba. First there is getting out to the highway from our cottage with lots of hills. On the way out the longest and steepest climb is the one out of the gravel pit. I still remember the first time I tried this when the bike was new and I was still getting used to clipless pedals. About 2/3 of the way up I ran “out of gas” and stalled and didn’t clip out fast enough and just fell over right in the middle of the road. Well, things have improved and while the hill was still a grind, there was no stalling or falling off.
The highway ride is not too bad, if you ignore the traffic. The shoulders are wide in 17 and most folks move over to give you some extra space, which is always appreciated. After the turn th 71, the shoulder narrows a bit but the traffic is lighter and going a little slower too. After 45min. I’m looping around the park. With the cooler weather there is nobody on the beach or in the lake and several campers are packing up. After a look at the river and an almond snack, it’s back in the saddle. Now there is a head wind and some of the long grades uphill are seeming a little tougher.
Some of my gear selections are starting to slip and skip. I know there is a little bit of excessive cross chaning in the selection, but this never used to be a problem. Must be time for a bit of a tune-up.
Pretty uneventful trip, no wildlife sightings, no road kill, no interesting objects on the side of the road, just the steady whir of the knobby tires on the road and some time to think.