West and Back on the Road

It feels like it's been a while since I headed out on a longish road ride.  Sunday morning is church time for our family, but with two sick kids we stayed home today.  So, this morning I unhooked the road bike from its perch, pumped the tires, and set out on a ride with no specific route in mind.

Sun at back , heading west in the morning.

The sun was laying down some heat already but the humidity was not too uncomfortable yet.  A induced breeze of riding along helps on the road.

Tough decision; turned left for a longer ride.

I rode past Mohican Golf Course and into Ashland County.  Turning south I found an Ashland County Park I had either never seen before, or it was never there before.  The park only consisted of a short trail through the woods to a canoe launch on a stream.

I followed the sign to check it out.

I'm really not sure where you could paddle on this stream.  Knowing this area a little bit, I didn't think there would be any constant streams through these low lying areas.  I figured the waterways would come and go.  But I guess it's currently as dry as it has ever been and there is still a stream, so what do I know.

The canoe launch into a muddy stream.

After visiting the canoe launch I circled south and had a couple good gravel / chip-and-seal climbs.  At some point I lost track of where I was and found a couple new road to bring me back to the east.  The sun was getting higher and hotter as I rode.

Interesting terrain formation.

About 2 and half hours after rolling out the driveway I pedaled back up the driveway a sweaty mess.  It felt good to be out!