First up was a trip to the Saturday morning farmer's market on the square. I picked up some great swag: homemade pickles and green tomatoes.
Then, it was time to ride. My route took me northward on some familiar dirt roads. I love these roads but don't get to ride them except on my longer dirt outings. The top of my loop went along Clybel Road:
I wouldn't drive on most of Clybel Road without 4-wheel drive
 |
Rut road! |
A cyclocross bike works great on the entire road!
When I've ridden on Clybel Road in the past, I've turned left, heading south onto Ellis Road. This past Saturday, I continued straight on Clybel Road, a portion I had never ridden. My spatial skills came in handy here.
I had created my route as a gpx file and uploaded it to my Wahoo. Also, I had studied a map ahead of time. My Wahoo told me to turn on Ellis Road. That wasn't correct! I reviewed the cues in my uploaded file, and somehow the northwest portion of my route had been truncated. It wasn't even going by Barnes Mountain, which was the whole point of this ride. I determined where my Wahoo route would bring me back into the correct route. Time to do a little navigating on the fly.
I was never truly lost, but I stopped a couple of times to check Google Maps on my phone to make sure I was going on the roads I intended. I had never ridden on a few of these dirt roads - woo hoo! Before long, the green lights on my Wahoo lit up; I was back on (its) track.
For the second time ever, I rode on Faulkner Road. The first time was last fall at the Sasquatch Ride. That time, however, was in the opposite direction. My route last Saturday took me up a steep climb that I didn't know I'd encounter. According to Strava, parts of it were more than 13%! There were a few technical points on my route - heavy gravel in a few spots, including a steep descent or two, plus some severe rutting on Clybel Road - but getting up this hill on Faulkner Road really did test my off-road cycling skills. Glad I made it up without falling or having to walk!
Faulkner Road dead-ended onto Highway 16. From there, I went almost straight across onto Concord Church Road. I stopped to visit an interesting old grave at Concord Church that I discovered a few years ago:
Good Grief! Can you imagine naming your child that? The headstone must have been replaced at some time because this man lived so long ago. He almost made it to 100, quite a feat, particularly back then! Note that he was a mason, too (see symbol at top of headstone).
Fourteen miles to go, but only about the first half of those were off-road. I had to savor the dirt while I could...
It was a good ol' humid summer day. I had been fine on food and water, but I was ready for the treat I had planned for the last part of my ride: Dairy Queen! I indulge in a Blizzard once or twice a year. This time I got a summer berry cheesecake Blizzard - fuel for the last three miles.
When I got home, I had a late lunch. I tried one of the pickles I had bought that morning at the farmer's market. It was outstanding!
The good eats weren't over, however. That evening I made a green tomato casserole.
I love where I live. Check out your own backyard - who knows what treasures you'll find!
No comments:
Post a Comment