Mohican Sunset

Tomorrow is Good Friday and, amongst other things, that means a three day weekend for me. Unfortunately the weather forecast for all three days is looking wet. It was nice all day today so I decided to book it home after work and head down to Mohican.

At 5:30 I was on my way to Loudonville having already stopped at home to grab my bike and gear up. I parked at the Discovery Forest parking lot with a new plan in mind.

 Gettin' ready in the Disco Forest parking lot.

A short distance down the road from the parking lot I jumped on the trail between mile markers 8 and 9. I felt cool in the 50 degree air but warmed up soon on the way to the downhill stretch that begins before mile 11. Before long I was at the covered bridge and ready for some climbing.

Near the top of Mount Doom I caught a rider, the only other rider I would see today, and rode with him to mountain bike trail head 2. I immediately noticed his Luv Bars and Groovy Cycles frame made by Rody Walters, a local frame builder. Turns out Mike, the Groovey pilot, is a good friend of Rody. Mike mentioned his other Groovy frame is the “rattlesnake frame”, which I immediately remembered from reading Rody’s blog.

Without too much delay I headed out on my own from the trailhead, Mike was back to his truck and done for the day. I knew it was going to be cutting it close on making it back to my truck before sunset.

As planned, I detoured at mile 23.5 and took the short loop connector up to mile 4. I was feeling pretty decent, if not a little hungry, and continued to mile 8. The sun was quickly dropping and it was getting dark in the woods. If there had been leaves on the trees I’m sure it would’ve been darker.

From mile 8 to my road crossing is the only substantial section of non-singletrack on the course. I guess it’s a former logging or well access road. It felt like I was going 25 mph as I blasted along this section and I was back to my truck in short order.

It’s going to be much easier to tolerate three days of rainy weather with 20 miles of mountain biking in my legs!

Happy 0th Birthday Rylen!!

Ryan and Helena welcomed a healthy baby girl into the world today!

Baby Rylen, so cute.

 Welcome to fatherhood Ryan!

 Daniel helped me install a welcome home sign.

Organized Pegboard

A long overdue pegboard organization in the basement:

Just added the shelf in the middle.

Too nice to pass up

The legs felt pretty good this morning after yesterday’s longer ride. Eating well and stretching must have done the trick. Even so, I really did not plan on a ride today.

KT took Daniel for a picture session in Ashland late this afternoon, and I made a spontaneous decision to head to Mohican for a short ride. Within minutes of KT leaving I was loaded up and out the driveway.

Grape eatin' on the run.

I rode the first four miles and was going to take the short loop back, but I decided to backtrack for a little more riding time. Once again the new bike felt great. I have made several modifications to the bike and will have to post some specifics later.

Sneak peak at drivetrain modification.

On today’s ride I tried to spin a little more than usual to prevent over doing it after yesterday’s ride, and I was feeling good. It was just a nice, short mountain bike ride and the first time in short sleeves this year.

What a difference a day makes in Ohio’s weather! (I’m stating the obvious here.) Yesterday it was in the 40’s and overcast. Today it was 82 when I left for the ride and sunny as could be. Tomorrow’s forecast: high in the low 50’s and rain. Oh well, at least it’s not supposed to snow.

Shauck Metric Century

My Saturday started the same way a work day begins, with a 6:30AM alarm. It sure is easier to get up for a bike ride than it is for work. After getting dressed in cycling gear, brewing some coffee, and making a peanut butter and egg sandwich I was standing in the driveway waiting for Ryan to show up.

We were on the road by 7:15 and heading for Shauck, south of Lexington, for a metric century to benefit the Johnsville volunteer fire department. We figured it would be a good way to get 62 miles in the legs and see some new roads while doing so. At the fire station we signed in for the road and headed out.

Arriving on scene.

It was a damp 40 degree start to the ride, not so much rain as a misty fog. We stopped within a handful of miles to take off our glasses as they were too wet to see out of. For the beginning of the ride I began to feel underdressed and was not staying warm. The sun never came out but it must have warmed a few degrees and I became more comfortable.

A quick stop to dig out some food... and take a picture.

We rode to Fredericktown and then up to Butler. In Butler the route took us onto the rails to trails and we rode the former railway bed all the way to Lexington. The route was mostly flat or mildly rolling but we did enjoy a good uphill grade riding south out of Lexington.

Gas station stop in Butler to refill bottles.

It was a good ride, though the route was somewhat non-distinctive. I guess that makes sense for a flat ride, it’s usually the hills that make an impression on me. For this time of year it was a good ride to get the legs up to speed.

 Pedaling along the rail trail.

Grandpa Franks Visit

It's been a long time since I've been to my grandfather's grave.  This morning, while KT and Daniel were stuck in the house under the weather, I headed out on a ride without much of a plan as to where I would go.  As it turned out I ended up riding by Reedsburg and saw the cemetery from a distance.  Remembering my grandfather I stopped in to visit his grave.

 

This is how it ends for everyone.  No matter how many
miles we ride or how many good intentions we have.

 

But Christ represents us, if we ask, and makes
this the beginning instead of the end.

I continued on my ride, thinking of my grandfather, a short while later I spotted no less than eight deer out in a field.  Fitting because my grandfather was an avid outdoors-man and hunter.  I stopped to snap a picture and captured about half the herd crossing the road.

A deer paceline.