So I rode my bike like it was a sailplane...

[BiggJawn]

Out-and-back to a declared goal. Adds a little more spice to it than just "Go ride fer a coupla hours, see if I can hit 30 miles"

Rode to the little hydro plant near here, 25 miles round trip, took just a skosh over 2 hours, exceeded 35 MPH on the downhills twice, walked only 2 hills...

85 degrees, winds South at 12.

And there were Deer in the corn. Heard them twice!

[ze_dscherman]

1. Head a great riding weekend, too!

Hi BiggJawn! :hi:

Had a free weekend with no GF or kids, and weather was announced very good, so I rode to office with my light weekend camping gear on the bike :) and left at five.

I rode a mountain track - most of it single trail on a hill crest that stretches for more than 100 miles through our area. Beautiful scenery, all of it forest, but with some sand patches and difficult, rocky and stony climbs. When night came, I had to do a final steep ascent of 650 ft (on a paved road) until I reached a hilltop where I put my tent. 2280 ft climb, but only 21 miles altogether.

Next morning started with a one mile ride downhill, with up to 20% slope - 43,5 mph really gets you awake! Then it was steep climbing again, through a very beautiful landscape with some spectacular views over deep forests and hills. The trail became very lonesome, although it was Saturday, and finally very muddy, bumpy and narrow. Some of it went right along cliff edges, so I had to ride very carefully. The final mile was mostly too difficult to ride, because it was only a narrow footpath into to giant prehistoric walled fortification that is covered with deep forest. One edge of it falls off steeply with sandstone cliffs and boulders and many old and fallen trees. My camping site was right under a big cliff with a large, square boulder on top, which was used as a heathen altar in the days before the Saxons were christianized by force. Quite an awe-inspiring place to stay, an area where I had seen wild boars before - but not this time, I just heard them in the distance. I had picked some mushrooms on my way, so my meal was delicious. I did 3871 ft of ascent and 36 miles of riding that day.

Next morning I spent some time in the cliff area and left only at noon. Just when I had climbed up the side of the cliff to my bike, a hawk chased a dove right in front of me, down the cliff, feathers swirling and all. What a sight! I then crossed the hill crest, much of my path was single trail, some of it covered with fallen logs, so it was very exhausting, but some also graveled of asphalted forest road. When, after I had crossed the hills,I followed a pike path down a river valley and then took a long ride along minor roads through a plain back home. It was a bit lackluster after the very inspiring scenery I had rode through, but I enjoyed a beautiful sunset before I came back into the city. 2000 ft of ascent, and 71 miles of ride.

Actually, I feel a bit lame right now - but that was one of my best rides ever!

Sorry for the long rant - I just had to share (my SO is away for this week)! Did you ride against the wind on your way back? That's something I really, really hate - I remember times when I was literally cursing the wind!

Keep on ridin'!

[BiggJawn]

2. Wow! What a ride!

That sounds like some awesome scenery! I saw a small hawk, too, but he was still "shopping" for his dinner sitting on the elctric wires that come away from the hydro dam. I never saw the deer, but one (maybe two) went crashing away deeper into the corn when i passed, and the other snorted. Never heard a deer snort. I sure HOPE it was a deer!

It was quite warm, but hazy, so the sun was difused and not beating down on me. There is a tavern at the dam, and they kindly re-filled my water bottles so I didn't run into the hydration trouble I did last weekend.

I had crosswind on most the route, but there was about 5 miles of headwinds. I was able to maintain about 11-12 MPH into the wind, and I figure it's a good work-out, since I still weigh around 280#. All that bulk makes for a nice "sail" when i'm running with the wind, though...:-)

Thanks for sharing your ride with me!
Today is Labor Day here, so I may ride again, since I'm not at work today.