New Knob Fun

They have been busy over the winter at the Knob.  I'm not sure why I never thought to check for work days taking place, I guess I didn't think frozen ground allowed trail work.  Ryan and I met at the Knob this morning for a ride.  Lorson arrived just as we were about to roll out, so we waited a few minutes to roll with him.

Lots of leaf cover at the bottom of Junk Hill.

He was in the know about the new opening section of trail and gave us a guided tour.  The first half mile is the same as last year, then the new stuff comes into play.  Lots of fast downhill, some jumps, tabletops, and doubles contribute to the fun, as well as some berms.  Eventually it's back on the "same 'ol" trail when you drop down the ravine towards the Cradle, which is currently closed.

Ryan snagged this picture as I

came out of the Over/Under.

We rode the first lap and found some mud along the way.  At the end of the first lap we met up with Lorson again and he gave us another guided tour, this time of the new double enduro loop.  We did a couple laps before John had to take off.  This was some fun riding.

Another ride, another muddy bike.

Ryan and I headed back out for a second lap, bypassing the Over/Under and Junk Hill for the sake of time.  It was a fun day at the Knob, the first time there this year for me.

Pantry Organized

When we first moved in to our house.  We liked the number and size of closets, including the pantry as a closet in this statement.  However, the shelving arrangement left much to be desired.  We thought re-shelving the closets would be an urgent project.

KT preps the walls after

ripping down the shelves.

Ten years later, I did a makeover on the pantry.  Better late than never!

KT likes the bright white, adjustable side shelves,

and much better utilized storage space.

Mohican Mud Cleanup

We surprisingly received several inches of snow last night.  (What did I say about spring weather on the way in my post less than 24 hours ago?)  My helpers bundled up and were in attendance for the bike cleanup.

Daniel must have been expecting some overspray.

Ellen is about the same height as a 29er wheel.

Mohican Mud

Our schedules and weather aligned.  Ryan and I headed down to Mohican for an off-road ride.

The bikes had not seen each other in a while.

The weather had been a little warmer but I did not expect to find the mud spots we encountered.  It was still a fine afternoon for a ride through the woods.  The temperature was in the upper 30's and I added a vest layer atop my wool jersey for some extra warmth.

No leaves or under story to block the views.

I tried to eat more often to keep some energy going.  At the covered bridge I ate up a homemade energy bar and we got to business on Mount Doom.

Doing some climbin'.

We cut the loop short at about mile 21 and headed back to the car via road.  This gave some opportunity to fling mud of the bikes.  They were still quite dirty upon return to the parking lot.

Wash me!

It was a good early season ride.  My forearms seemed to get as much workout as anything, just holding onto the bars.  Maybe some spring weather will show up for the next ride!

Heading home.

skunk cross

Ever get stuck in the road by a skunk that will not let you pass?  I did today and I was glad I was on my cross bike.

Ryan and I went for a ride after church.  We rode from his in-laws house north of Wooster and were able to cover some roads I have not been on in a while.  It was mid 30's and overcast and I was having an unexpectedly hard time staying warm.  I seemed to be rapidly swinging from warm to cold.  Come to think of it, the leaky water bottle in my gear bag that pre-moistened my base layer may have been the culprit.

We pedaled together for two hours and Ryan had east while I headed west to the Overton Valley.  I was coming down Armstrong Road and spotted something in the road up ahead.  Just last week I was taking pictures of frogs and a turtle in the spring weather.  What was this today?  A cat in the road?  Strange, it's walking in circles right in the middle of the road.  I stopped about 20 yards short of the animal and realized it was a skunk.

A truck approached from behind, pulled up beside me and put the window down.  "I really don't want to get sprayed by that skunk" I said.  We talked for a few moments and he pulled forward hoping to scare it off.

Meanwhile another car pulled up and stopped beside me.  This guy diagnosed the skunk as rabid and said they often spin in circles with such disease.  The skunk continued to walk in about a 10' circle right in front of the stopped truck.

Hoping to see a skunk dart out from in front

of the truck... or the truck run him over.

With the stalemate situation continuing I decided to take action.  I rode through a small ditch, into a field, and bypassed the trunk / skunk stand-off.  The guy in truck yelled over, "is it still in front of me?"  Yep, still circling and half under his truck for a portion of the loop.

My view from the field.

The car behind went around on the left.  The truck backed up and, waiting for the skunk loop to start the right half, also went around on the left.  There was no skunk spraying and I rode off amused.

The rest of the ride was not so eventful.  I rode pretty steady down Overton Rd in my own time trial and arrived home slightly cross-eyed.  It felt good to sit in front of the fire when I got home, and it was an added plus to not smell like a skunk.

Spring or confused reptiles & amphibians?

It was hard to believe the weather forecast several days ago, but I guess it was right.  Yesterday was better than 60 degrees and today the same.  Sunny skies and warm weather, it seems like spring.

After being down and out with another cold I was looking for an excuse for a ride this afternoon.  The weather along was a good reason for a ride but I needed a destination.  I had a cycling magazine for Ryan so I decided to ride it to him, like an aluminum framed pony express rural delivery.

Across Valley and into the swamps I rode, turning on Messner.  As I started onto the long straight away with low lying swampy water on both sides of the road I confirmed KT's prediction.  She thought the warm weather these past two days combined with the overnight rain may bring some frogs out of hibernation.  She was right.

Is it spring or is this frog confused?

I spotted a leopard frog hopping across the road and halted his advance so I could take a picture.  (Full disclosure... I had no idea what kind of frog it was before KT told me after seeing the picture.)

Back on the bike, time to get rolling... ooooh, there's another frog and it's slimy black!

Ditched the bike and dropped to the

road for another froggy picture.

My ride continued and I pedaled the magazine to Ryan's house for delivery.  After visiting with him and Rylen for a little bit it was time to head back home with a tail wind.  I had been mostly into the wind on the way over.

I made my way back over to Messner to ride through the swamps again, wondering how many squished frogs I would find on the road.  In nearly the same place I encountered the frogs earlier I spotted a slow moving bump in the chip and seal.

A slow road crossing.

A turtle!  I used to have a turtle like this as a pet when I was a kid.  My bike was tossed into the ditch for the third time today while I snapped a few turtle pics.  I couldn't just leave him there to get thumped so I expedited his desire to be on the other side of the road.  It was quite a creature filled ride today.

You better pull back inside.  I hope you

have some mittens and a hat in there!

Is spring here?  No way, it's Ohio.  I'm sure there is some more snow to come.