Stowe Recreation Path, Vermont

May 15, 2018
11 miles

What a day! Original plan was to drive to Burlington, Vermont. Bike Island Line Trail along beautiful Lake Champlain. Eat lunch somewhere with a view. Drive to Stowe, Vermont. Bike Stowe Recreation Path. But, the weather was uncooperative. It was raining when we arrived in Burlington. We tried to wait it out but finally gave up, had lunch at Five Guys and then went to Stowe.

 Before our rainy ride in Stowe

When we arrived in Stowe it was lightly raining. The forecast predicted that it would come to an end around 4 pm. We checked in early to the lodge and unloaded. By that time the prediction of rain stopping had moved to 6 pm. So, as much as I don't like riding in the rain, I didn't have many options left if I was going to ride a trail in Vermont.

The path started right by the lodge, which is always nice. As we began our ride we passed some stables. The horses found us very interesting. They started running towards us and followed along until the fence prevented them from continuing any farther. The trail meandered along West Branch River through farms and woodlands and then through parts of the beautiful town of Stowe. The trail crossed the river ten times. We also got glimpses of the ski area which still had snow. I enjoyed the bike ride today even though it was cold and wet. The sounds of the river and the scents of mountains are wonderful!

Found this painted rock while on the trail today.

Warren County Bikeway, New York

May 14, 2018
Lake George to Glens Falls
20 miles

It's been a while since we've ridden the tandem and our legs and rear ends are reminding us about it tonight. The last time we rode was September 3rd (how did we let so much time go by?) and we are so out of condition. Today is the first day of nine consecutive days we will be biking, weather permitting.

Lake George

For our first ride on this trip I picked a trail that claimed to be "family friendly" and "gently rolling terrain with an occasional short climb". Needless to say, that is not how I would have described it! Our legs got a good workout this afternoon. And, I'm hesitant to admit it, but we actually got off our bike and walked up one incline.

We started out in the resort town of Lake George, New York. Nestled in the southern part of the Adriondack foothills. It is still "off season" so all the amusement parks, mini golf places, water parks, etc are closed. It looks like a very fun and lively place when it's "in season". We biked south ten miles to Glens Falls and then back to Lake George. There were several pubs and ice cream places with outdoor seating right on the trail to stop and refresh yourself, probably from all the "gently" rolling hills! Clay especially enjoyed stopping and reading all the historical markers along the trail, dating back to 1755.

One of the closed amusement parks

Even though we are sore and tired tonight, it felt wonderful to be riding again! Tomorrow we are headed to Vermont and are planning to ride two trails. The forecast is predicting rain so we are crossing our fingers that we won't have to cancel our rides!

Rocks

A few years ago, instead of making a New Year's Resolution, my pastor encouraged us to pick a word to focus on for the year. To make it a theme in our lives and to work on being intentional about it. After picking my word, I thought it would be good to have it placed somewhere in the house so that I would see it everyday. That way it would be a constant reminder for me and it wouldn't be as easily forgotten. I came up with several ideas but finally decided on painting my word on a rock and displaying it on the living room coffee table.

Word of the Year Rocks

Little did I know that painting rocks was going to become such a fad. About a month ago Clay and I were riding on the trails around our house. I was looking around as we pedaled along and I happened to notice something on top of a stop sign post at an entrance to the trail from a neighborhood. It was a painted rock. I was immediately hooked!

First Painted Rock I Found

If you combine my love of treasure hunting, painting and bike riding ~ painting rocks to hide while biking is the perfect trifecta! Since we had an upcoming bicycle trip planned I was excited to paint a few rocks to leave behind on the trail. I thought it was only appropriate that the rocks have a bicycle on them. Looking for a place to "hide" the rocks added to the fun of our biking adventure in Minnesota.

Rocks Left Behind on the Root River Trail

Happy Rock Hunting!

Root River Trail, Minnesota

August 9, 2017

Lanesboro to Houston

63 miles

Hello, it's me. I haven't forgotten about my blog. This Spring and Summer has been very unusual and due to various reasons we have not been able to ride much. Therefore, nothing to blog about. Unfortunately, we were not able to check any new states off of our list this year but, at the last minute we decided that we could take a short bike trip to Southeast Minnesota. In 2012 we rode around the Twin Cities on the Grand Rounds Trail. Since that was an urban ride we thought we would try a country ride this time.

The Root River Trail reminds me of the Katy Trail in Missouri only not as long and paved. Just like the Katy Trail it has bluffs on one side of the trail and the river on the other side. Also, there are several small, quaint towns along the trail with many B&Bs and unique places to eat. Each having their own "one of a kind special item" that are hard to pass up!

This first day we are riding to the East to the town of Houston. We spent the first 26 miles enjoying the flat terrain then we hit what the map calls "relatively steep hills". Fortunately, it wasn't too bad and not very far, only a mile in length. Very manageable! It was lunch time when we arrived in Houston and we found Barista's Coffee House right across the street from the end of the trail. We ate Paninis outside on their covered porch. After lunch we headed back to Lanesboro. I was looking forward to stopping in Whalen to eat a slice of their "world famous pies" but, alas, the place was closed on Wednesday. Bad timing! This town is also famous for their "Stand Still Parade". There really is such a thing - Google it!

Wildlife seen today:

Rabbits

Deer

1 unfortunate chipmunk sort of animal (he ran under our tires!)

Rattlesnake (yes, it was sunning on the trail!)

An imposter bald eagle (a plastic one on a telephone pole)

August 10, 2017

Lanesboro to Harmony to Fountain

57 miles

We weren't going to ride as much today because the extended forecast had predicted rain for much of the day. Well, we woke up to beautiful weather so we decided to take advantage of another great riding day and go West from Lanesboro. After 5 miles you come to a junction in the trail. One way goes to Preston and then on to Harmony (18 miles) and the other way goes to Fountain (6.5 miles). We thought since it wasn't raining that we would go to Harmony because it would give us a longer ride and we could eat lunch there before coming back.

Once we got to Preston we encountered a section of the trail that was closed. It was fairly easy to get on the road and catch the trail again about half a mile later. According to the Trail website this section is closed due to a Trout Stream Habitat Project and they are going to reopen the trail August 12. We were just a few days too early!

Before we got to Harmony we came upon another section of trail labeled as "relatively steep hills", only this time they were quite difficult and it was about a 4 mile section. Our tired legs from yesterday's ride really struggled! I was more than ready to get to Harmony for a lunch break and it was only 11 a.m. We ate at Estelle's Eatery and Bar. Just like yesterday we sat outside on the porch for lunch. Beautiful day, delicious food and the sound of road construction, what more could you ask for? Seriously, even with the noise it was very enjoyable!

On the way back to Lanesboro, when we came to the junction, we had the great idea to go to Fountain. It was only 6.5 miles extra one way,  it was sunny and in the 70's. Also, then we could say we rode all of the Root River Trail. We knew we would be riding into the wind but what we didn't know was that the last 5 miles of the 6 and a half miles was a constant uphill (our trail map didn't tell us that information)! Riding to Fountain at the end of our day and under those conditions was challenging but we made it and the fantastic thing about it was we got to COAST for 5 miles coming back down!

We had two great riding days here. I would rank this trail in my top 3. I'm already wanting to come back.

Additional pictures from the NW bike trip

September 26, 2016

We have been back from our NW bike trip for a week now and we are slowly getting back into our normal routine. Last week was unseasonably warm and we managed to ride 70 miles. Last night a cold front came through our area and this week will be slightly cooler than the average. I feel like we need to take advantage of all the nice days because our bike riding for 2016 will end soon. Today we were able to ride 24 miles. The leaves are really starting to fall and cover the trails. It does pose a small problem, sometimes you can't see stick or limbs laying on the trail because they are covered by the leaves. We did hit a few today but fortunately they didn't cause any problems. 

You know it's Fall when..........

You have to stop and clean your sprocket several times while riding!

Below are several additional pictures from our trip that weren't included in the blog write ups. Thought I would give you some extra tidbits from our rides.

Before the trip I decided to make license plates for both our bike and Tom and Susan's bike. I thought it would be a great conversational ice breaker while we rode the trails. We only had 1 person notice them and come up to us and ask about why we were riding there. This person was a very unique individual and liked to talk, and talk, and talk! So, I'm not sure we will leave the license plate on, it didn't turn out to be that great of an idea.

This sign was on the Banks Vernonia Trail. We blazed right by it while thinking "how bad could it be?" Well, this was the downhill part of the 11% grade with switchbacks. It got pretty scary and I made a mental note that we would definitely get off and walk the bikes on the return trip back to Banks. One of the main reasons I get so scared is because our feet are locked onto the pedals so if we start to go over you can't stick your foot out to catch yourself. 

We had two days that were particularly cold for me. But, even worse than the cold was for it to be cold and rainy! We have been so fortunate on our trips and have only had to ride in the rain 1 day. The picture above was taken at the Grand Tetons. You can tell by the wet parking lot that it had been raining. The rain stopped for several hours and we were able to get our ride in. I have never been so bundled up on a ride!

Tom was our designated bike holders while we stopped to eat blackberries and take pictures. We couldn't believe how many blackberry bushes were along the trail in Washington. There were also lots of apple trees here and in Oregon that we saw from the trail.

This picture was taken as we were driving in to Grand Teton National Park. This particular area was call the "Sensitive Wildlife Area". We were so thrilled to see more moose (we had seen 1 in Idaho also). We kept looking for bear but never saw any. A ranger at the visitor center tried to sell us bear spray but I didn't think I needed to spend $60 dollars for a can. All Clay and I would need to do was pedal faster than Tom and Susan if we ran into a bear! 

We drove 5200 miles and biked 200 miles. We have now ridden in 39 states. We have nine states in the NE, Hawaii and Alaska left. We are presently talking about where we will go next and when. It's always fun to start planning our next adventure! (Above photo taken by Susan Weaver)

Grand Teton Multi-use Pathway, Wyoming

September 14, 2016
14 miles

The day started out cold and rainy. But the forecast showed that there would be a break in the rain around 10:30 to early afternoon. We loaded the bikes and headed for Grand Teton National Park. We figured if we were at the park when the clouds broke we could hop on our bikes and get a ride in without getting wet. Our first stop was the visitor center. While there the rain did stop and we even saw a rainbow. A sign that it was time to ride.

We drove to Jenny Lake, unloaded our bikes and got everything ready. Clay went to put his biking shoes on and they weren't in the car. He'd left them back at the condo, which was 45 minutes away. He would have to ride in his running shoes and not be clipped in. We started out South, going downhill into the wind. It was 45 degrees and pretty cold. I had dressed warmly but my hands and face were very cold. But, I was so thankful that it wasn't raining! We followed the bike trail down to the ranger station at Moose, turned around, and went back to Jenny Lake. Going back with the wind at our backs was so nice and I wasn't cold anymore. I couldn't believe how much difference it made. When we finished our ride the sun was still shining so we ate our lunch at a picnic table at the Jenny Lake Trailhead. 

 The rain had stopped and we had some fabulous views!

 Passed some antelope playing on the range.

 Jenny Lake

Before heading back to the condo we drove around Grand Teton National Park to enjoy more of the scenery. Just as we turned the car around to head back to the condo it started raining again. I never would have guessed that today would have turned out to be so perfect!

Jackson Lake, from Signal Mountain.

We ended our day by having dinner at the Bar J Chuckwagon Supper & Western Show. So much fun to eat a cowboy dinner and hear these men sing western songs. They are very talented and I highly recommend their show if you are in the Jackson Hole area.

Great Northern Historical Trail, Montana

September 12, 2016
22 miles

Spent the morning driving around Glacier National Park. Absolutely beautiful! We did get into some snow and parts of the road were closed due to the weather but, we enjoyed what we saw.

Our bike ride started later in the afternoon when it was suppose to hit the high for the day, which was 57 degrees. It was partly cloudy and breezy so it would feel even cooler to me. I dressed as warm as I could. Two pairs of socks, 3 pants, 2 shirts, 2 jackets, a muffler, earmuffs and my long fingered gloves. I was quite fluffy but I stayed warm!

We started our ride in Kalispell and went south to Somers. The trail followed a road so there was a lot of traffic noise. The views to the distance were of the mountains and it was gorgeous. Some of mountains had a dusting of snow at the peaks. Overall it was a nice trail and I rode more than I expected since it was so cold.

Interesting bicycle seat at the Wheaton Bike Store, Kalispell, Montana