Sunday, January 1, 2012

New Years Eve Ride

The forecast said to expect a warm New Years Eve day this Saturday. There was some talk at work last week about having a bike adventure on New Years Eve Day. We decided to meet in Mineola, IA @ noon and ride south to Malvern. IA and back. This would be about 12 miles each way.
Brian, Dale, Chris N and I met at Dave N's and we were able to save some gas and pile into his Honda Ridgeline with all five bikes.

Stop at Austin's in Silver City, IA.


Once the wheels were rolling, we found out that this trail takes longer than we thought to dry this time of year. It's not often that coasting a downhill grade on the Wabash feels so sluggish that you have to pedal. It was like a damp beach. The trail was not really muddy but just soft enough to steal your energy. We only rode half as far as we planned and that was more than enough in these conditions. We just couldn't make enough power. It was still a good adventure and bikes are powerful machines. They have the power to improve our lives, build friendships, and create good memories. This appears to be a shared understanding that bikes do this in a way that is kind to the earth and our bodies. I'm looking forward to new bike adventures this year. Happy New Year!

2 comments:

DJ Chi Wai said...

The picture of Andy cracks me up. Was he not feeling safe inside? He should take off his helmet, stay awhile! And the flower looks like it is pinned to his jacket.

NaugaBike said...

Trail conditions you describe a common Spring trail condition. You don't rut the tread, but it takes SOOO much effort to get anywhere. Glad you were able to get ot on the trail.

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