Hitting the trails

Had been in touch with a couple of cyclists in the area and with their help found some great mountain biking trails. There is a Greenway trail which is a paved road through the forest which sees many joggers, runners, skaters as well as cyclists. It is a beautiful path with benches overlooking vantage points, and little bridges over a silent creek flanked by bare branches dipping in for a drink and ducks floating across in silence. Then there is the Big Creek bike trail, a completely different ball game. After completing a round of the beginner's route, I decided to see how far I could take the bike and had a go at the intermediate and expert tracks. For the latter, I did bypass some challenging obstacles and a couple of times when I went into a climb with insufficient speed, I was pushed off the saddle. The dried autumn leaves on the path, a shade of dull orange felt like they could pose a problem by lowering the friction. The trail was a very narrow single bike path and occasionally required the rider to duck or swerve to avoid branches. And then of course there were those giant roots and broken bits of rock to negotiate. The one good thing about the bike I'm using is its thick sturdy tyres and I was quite lucky to come back without a puncture.

One of the joys of riding alone is it gives me the freedom to stop whenever I like to take a picture. It also makes it easier to meet fellow riders. When I began though, I didn't think I would last even 15 minutes on the roads. I had wished for cold weather and clear skies. Today I did get the deepest blues and the coldest temperatures. The minimum temperatures these days are dipping below zero and then there is the wind of course. No wonder I had felt cold when I was out for a walk talking on the phone yesterday. Today though, I did wear a light jacket but with the very strong wind, my ears almost froze and so did the tip of my nose. I decided to keep pedalling hard to generate some heat to counter the chill and after more than half an hour of riding, things started getting better. Some of the steep climbs against a strong gust with dry leaves flying into the face was most challenging. On the way to the trails, I had passed through the road where these two shots were taken and none of the rich colour remains. The branches are now bare and winter is setting in.

It was a most enjoyable five hours of riding though I have no clue about the distance covered. The mountain biking trails are more a way of challenging particular biking skills, but I am enjoying road rides further away from the city even more here because there is much more to see.

P.S. When I finally returned from the trails and lay down on the bench for a breather, I found a large dry leaf stuck on the bike. Had to take a picture!

Larger.