Staycation with Drew and Sarah

Drew recently purchased a Cannondale bicycle (smart young man) so he brought that with him and Sarah borrowed one of our hybrid bikes. We originally wanted to ride part of the KATY Trail with them but because we had Cardinal tickets on Sunday we couldn't do that. We decided to ride our trails here in Madison County and have a staycation. 

Saturday, July 20, 2013
Nickel Plate Trail, Goshen Trail & Watershed Trail
20 miles

Sunday, July 21, 2013
Cardinal Game vs. San Diego Padres
Cardinals won 3-2
Rained late afternoon so we couldn't get a ride in.

Monday, July 22, 2013
Nickel Plate Trail, Nature Trail, Bluff Trail & Delyte Morris Trail
20 miles

My camera steamed up when I got it out of our pack!

Taking a break on the SIUE campus.

Cherokee Park, Louisville, Kentucky

June 15, 2013
85 degrees and sunny
11 miles

This evening we found another Frederick Olmstead Park here in Louisville not far from where we are staying. We were able to ride our bike over to the park and then ride the one way scenic loop. The right lane was for cars and bicycles, and the left lane was for pedestrians and bicycles. Again, there were many people taking advantage of all the park had to offer.

We rode the loop 3 times around. There were 2 different inclines that gave us a pretty good workout. My knees are talking to me tonight! On the level areas, we were able to get up to 25 mph which was the speed limit. I have discovered since our fall on June 1st that I get a little apprehensive on unfamiliar trails when we get going at a good clip, especially when the trail is curvy.

 An old fountain that is not in working order any more.

We saw several dogs playing in this fountain.

Iroquois Park, Louisville, Kentucky

June 13, 2013
80 degrees and beautiful
11 miles

Tonight we rode the lower loop (2x) and the upper loop of Iroquois Park in Louisville, Kentucky. Iroquois Park was planned by Frederick Law Olmsted as a "scenic reservation" of forested hillsides and breathtaking vistas in 1891. Back then it was promoted as "Louisville's Yellowstone". Today it offers mountain biking, road biking, walking trails, horse trails, disc golf, hiking trails, and much more. It was a very busy place tonight; I was really glad to see how many people were out appreciating this gem of a park.

Half of the lower loop and all of the upper loop was completely closed to cars tonight. It was nice to have the road sans cars and to not worry about them coming up behind us. The view from the top of the upper loop was worth the pedaling uphill.

 Downtown Louisville from the upper loop, Iroquois Park

Look, Sarah, what I found while riding the Lower Loop!

French Broad River Greenway, North Carolina

June 7, 2013
Sunny and 78 degrees
5 miles

Arrived in Asheville, North Carolina, and it was sunny. Couldn't wait to get out on the trail! Zoey and Rachel drove us to one of the trail heads so we could unload the bike and take advantage of the sunshine while it lasted; what is left of Tropical Storm Andrea is supposed to bring thunderstorms here this evening and tomorrow.

This trail starts out in one of Asheville's most beautiful parks; the park meanders alongside the tranquil French Broad River and features a vast area of open green space with old trees and a wildflower garden. We saw several canoes on the river today as we rode along the trail. We even saw 2 men launching their homemade bamboo raft. It was their second try, and unfortunately it didn't float, so they had to load it back up. Because of all the recent rain, there was lots of water sitting in pools on the trail. That really slowed us down, but we got to enjoy the view better. Supposedly you can see the Builtmore estate from this trail, but I never saw it. Maybe in the winter when there are no leaves on the trees you could get a glimpse.

North Augusta Greeneway Trail, South Carolina

June 6, 2013

Raining and 71 degrees

10 miles

We left St. Augustine this morning in Tropical Storm Andrea. It looks like we will have to deal with her for the next few days! Which means I have to put my big girl panties on and ride in the rain!

We stopped for lunch in Savannah, Georgia, and ate at The Lady & Sons restaurant. Ate WAY too much!

We are staying at Lookaway Inn in North Augusta, South Carolina. It is absolutely gorgeous! It got it's name from the song Dixie. "Lookaway, Lookaway, Lookaway Dixieland."

Since it was raining we decided to ride 5 miles out and then ride 5 miles back. I was nervous about the trail being slick so we rode slower than usual. There were some runners and a few people with umbrellas walking but saw no one else on a bike! It was a very pretty trail, I would have really enjoyed riding more of it. Maybe someday we will come back through here and we'll be able to ride the whole trail.

Jacksonville-Baldwin Trail, Florida

June 4, 2013

Overcast with an 80% chance of rain, 76 degrees

29 miles

Started out on the Jacksonville end. There were several other riders in the parking lot, most were loading up to leave. We did encounter a few others on the trail, but we mostly had it to ourselves. We were told on the weekends it is packed, and it is hard to find a parking spot in the parking areas.

Several miles into the ride, we came across the Civil War site of Camp Milton. Camp Milton was the first line of defense against the Union forces in Jacksonville in 1864, with over 8,000 troops. It was named after Florida's Governor during the Civil War, John Milton.

Most of the trail was covered by a tree canopy, so it was very nice temperature wise. It also provided some cover when we got rained on. We definitely could tell we were in Florida by the swampland and Spanish moss-covered oak trees.

When we got to the Baldwin end, we took a cookie break at the depot before heading back. Had to watch out for squirrels darting out in front of us today and saw a snake on the trail. Also, learned what yellow flies were. Every time we stopped, they bothered us. Note to self - need to buy bug spray to keep on the bike.

Chief Ladiga Trail, Alabama

June 2, 2013

82 degrees

Anniston, Alabama to Esom Hill, Georgia

33 miles

Started out the day in Tennessee with rain. We drove to the Chief Ladiga Trailhead in Alabama in hopes that it would be clear, and it was perfect weather by the time we arrived. The weather forecast had today listed as 80% chance of rain, so we were thrilled that it had cleared. As we passed Jacksonville, AL, we saw an Indian Pow-wow in a park. They were dancing around in a circle; we were hoping that it wasn't a rain dance!

We met Rachel, Jeremy, & Zoey in Piedmont and ate a Subway lunch. The trail was very nice. The first 18 miles reminded me of our trails back home in Edwardsville. After we left Piedmont, it was a constant gradual incline. We passed through wetlands, across streams, through forests and farmlands. We had a beautiful view of the Talladega Mountains. At the Georgia border, the trail connected with the Silver Comet Trail which continues on to just West of Atlanta, which we rode several years ago.

 

Now, on to Florida and some biking in Tom & Susan's neck of the woods!

Cumberland River Bicentennial Trail, Tennessee

June 1, 2013

Rainy and 68 degrees
7.5 miles

Got a slow start from home this morning due to the storms we had last night. Rachel, Jeremy, & Zoey didn't get to our house until 2 am this morning. What normally takes 2 hours to drive to our house took over 7 hours. They sat on the interstate for 4 hours due to a semi being blown over. We lost our power at home when the storms came through and didn't get it back until this morning around 10:30. So all of that drama caused us to sleep in longer this morning and delay our departure.

Arrived in Ashland City, Tennessee, about 5 this evening. Decided even though it was lightly raining that we would go ahead and ride the trail. It was hard for me to agree to ride because I knew that the bike wheels would throw wet dirt and other stuff up on us as we rode and then I would still have 4 hours traveling time before we could get cleaned up. I don't like traveling dirty!

The trail was absolutely beautiful! It ran along the Cumberland River. Lots of trees and rocky bluffs. There were about 5 wooden bridges that we crossed. Unfortunately, we found out the hard way that wet bridges are slippery. While crossing one of the bridges Clay had to brake, and that caused our tires to slip and we went over. We are happy to report that we only got a few scrapes and bruises, so we should be able to continue biking on this trip. Hopefully tomorrow it won't be raining!

Working on Our Goal

May 27, 2013

Well, here it is Memorial Weekend 2013. We are now in our 12th year of riding tandem. Usually by this time we have put quite a few miles on the bike but this year has been rainy and chilly so we are less than 100 miles so far this year. We did get a 30 mile bike ride in this morning and now it is thundering so I am glad we got out and rode early. Just received a Severe Thunderstorm Watch warning so it looks like I will have to come up with an alternate plan for supper as I had planned to grill outside.

We have plans this year to ride in at least 10 states, working on our goal to ride in all 50 states. In June we plan to ride in 6 states (Tennessee, Alabama, Florida, South Carolina, North Carolina and Kentucky) and then in August we are meeting Tom and Susan Weaver, my sister and her husband, and will ride in 4 states (Pennsylvania, Maryland, Virginia, and West Virginia) with them. So look for my blogs regarding our rides.

Bike art seen in Chesterfield, Missouri. I thought it funny that Best Buy was in the background because buying our tandem bike was definitely one of our best buys!