At Long Last - Spring!

The snow seems to be gone for the season.  Temperatures are trending up, and the nights are no longer below freezing.

The spring peepers are out and singing, birds are building nests, and daffodils are beginning to bloom.  All this can only mean one thing, and that is that spring has finally arrived.

This winter wasn't as bad as last by any means, but we did have over 70 continuous days of snow cover - and that's a bit of a test.  Either way I'm glad that it has finally passed by and that the seasons of getting outside are back with us.

My efforts at improving my fitness have been going pretty well.  Kenny and I are in the 9th week of our weightlifting workouts, and have been able to keep up a fairly consistent schedule of three workouts a week.  I have skipped a couple of Sunday workouts, but when I have there's been a bike ride or trail work to take it's place.  Kenny, being full of the vigor of youth, is definitely showing signs of development in his shoulders, upper arms and upper body.  Even my past-prime self is slowly firming up and showing some improvement.  It's been a long time since I was involved in a weightlifting program, and it's just as little fun as I remember.

I've been doing very well with my calorie intake as well.  Forcing myself to enter everything I eat on the Mapmyride nutrition counter has been a huge help.  So far in over two months I haven't exceeded my daily allowance of 2300 calories, plus any calories burned via exercise.  According to the calorie deficit that I'm counting over the last 9 weeks I should definitely be burning off some fat, but I'm avoiding the scale until next month some time.

Despite the wet weather I've managed to get in a couple of mountain bike rides since snowmelt. The most notable was last month when there was a spike in temps corresponding to a week without rain.  Kenny was out camping for the weekend with the Boy Scouts, Diana was in Columbus visiting her sister - and I was unsupervised for the day.  So I headed down to Bavington and rode my favorite section down there.  The trails were almost all dry, with only two places where sitting water caused me to get off and walk.  It was one of the first real mtb rides of the year, and I was fairly satisfied with my riding and stamina.

On the trail at Bavington.

After finishing up at Bavington I took to the road for a couple of hours and ended up just across the West Virginia state line at Cooper's Rock State Forest.  I'd done a bit of research on this place, and thought that some of the trails open to mountain bikes and marked 'easy' would be a good, low stress way to end up my day's adventure.  Little did I know that the park wasn't open yet, so I had to park outside the gates and ride the hilly road up to where the trails started.  Once there I rode a couple of miles that definitely were NOT easy, but had spectacular scenery and views.

At Cooper's Rock State Forest, looking down 1400 feet at the Cheat River.

On the Rock City Trail at Cooper's Rock S.F.

Since that time it's rained pretty regularly, leaving all the trails around way too soft for riding.  So I've been getting out on different rail trail and road rides, just trying to get in a few miles here and there.

Getting ready to hit the trail in an early spring blizzard

Sufferfest on icy Little Beaver Creek Greenway before the snow melted.

At the edge of the wildlife preserve north of town. Note bald eagle nest in trees above steel pole.

Snapping turtle crossing on Little Beaver Creek Greenway.

On Sandy Creek Trail, PA overlooking Pine Run.

Repairing a broken chain on Western Reserve Greenway Trail in Ashtabula County.

Earlier this week I packed my kayak and bike on the car, dropped Kenny off at school, and headed east to paddle some whitewater in Pennsylvania.  There had been significant rain for two days, and I hoped that I could find someplace to paddle without too much hassle.  I got lucky on my first try, as Bear Creek (between Parker and Bruin, PA) was at a low but fun level.

Looking upstream on Bear Creek from the put-in bridge.

It had been something like 7 years since I paddled this creek, but I had high hopes that it would provide an interesting morning.  The run starts off slow, but before long some bigger rapids show up.  I was pleasantly surprised to find that I was still able to make the technical moves required on this class II creek, but I wasn't so overconfident from a couple of good moves to take unnecessary chances.  So I ended up walking around a couple of the harder rapids, which was just fine with me.

After the 3.5 mile kayak run I stashed the boat in the woods and hike back upstream on the old rail grade above the creek, climbing about 400 feet on the way back to the trailhead by the road.  There I changed out of my wet gear and picked up my bike from it's hiding place for the road ride back to the car.  It turned out great - about 2.5 hours of physical exertion and I still had time to get in nearly a half day of work!

And the good news is that it rained another 2 inches over in that area last night!  I'm set up to head out early in the morning tomorrow to try my look again on the creeks over there.  This time I'm hoping to get on Deer Creek, and I think that I might bring along the GoPro and try to get some whitewater footage.  If it turns out I'll be sure to link to it here on my next post!

Old house in Salem, OH.  Love those chimneys!

Back to the Soil

Memorial Day has passed, May is done, and June is here in all it's green and leafy splendor.  The weather has finally got to the point where I'm not worried about it snowing overnight (I jest  - kind of).  We've had beautiful weather lately, with temps in the 70's and 80's, and the occasional thunderstorms to remind you that the world doesn't conform to your schedule.

When I went in for a doctor's appointment in January and found out that I had packed on fifteen pounds of Christmas fat I decided that I was going to try to step up my riding when the weather finally decided to cooperate.  So when the pavement started to show through in March I tried to get out as often as I could, and to make those rides a bit longer than I would have in the past.  The result was that I pedaled over 200 miles in March, and then went over 200 miles in April as well.

I have no illusions about riding 200 miles in a month - as far as great bicycle accomplishments it's pretty far down the list.  Heck, there are people who ride over 400 miles non-stop in one race, so me riding a measly 200 miles in 30 days isn't that big of a deal. 

So when May got going and I kept on riding on a regular basis it was no surprise when the miles started to add up.  Early in the month I headed a little bit west to the small town of Garrettsville and made my first trip on the Headwaters Trail.

Headwaters Trail entering Mantua.

This is a nice crushed stone trail that runs about 8-1/2 miles from Garrettsville to just past Mantua.  Most of the trail feels pretty remote, with plenty of woods and marshes alongside.  Some of the scenery is really beautiful, and gives an excellent example of the varying terrain of the headwaters area.  This little waterfall is near the trail, and with a little bit of rain provides a bit of natural music for your ride.

The town of Mantua, near the other end of the trail, has an interesting, if small, old downtown.  I really liked the old grain elevator with the slate shingle sides.

Downtown Mantua.

This historical marker lies beside the tracks between Garrettsville and Mantua.  It's just a small reminder of the local history that is forgotten all around us.

Besides making two end to end trips on Headwaters Trail, and a couple of long rides on the Little Beaver Creek Greenway, I also put in a bunch of miles on the Western Reserve Greenway, my local trail.  It may be the straightest and flattest of the rail trails in our area, but there is enough to see if you open your eyes.

Fox pups near Western Reserve Greenway.

These two fox pups were part of a litter of at least four that I saw in a group of den holes within 20 feet of the Greenway paving.  They've been there for over a month by now, and are getting big enough that I'm starting to wonder when they'll be leaving the den.  Then there's the guy below, who was on the trail up north in Ashtabula County.

Another trail user - this one is even slower than me.

There are some really beautiful spots on the trail up in Ashtabula County.  The old railroad bridge over Rock Creek has a great view of a unique little waterfall after a good rain.  And the little rest area north or Rock Creek is very peaceful - a good place to stop and catch a breath and a drink of water.

Ashtabula County bike trail rest area.

 But beauty is in the eye of the beholder, and when you're in the right frame of mind you can find it all around - even in places you've been a hundred times.

Sunset at the wildlife observation deck on Western Reserve Greenway.

So after three weeks of riding the rail trails (still waiting for the mountain bike trails to firm up enough to ride) I was surprised to see that mapmyride was showing that my monthly mileage was already over 200.  With such a strong start I was thinking I could get my highest monthly total yet - and with a bit of a push over the last weekend I managed to bring my May riding total up to 301.5 miles!  Once again, in the big picture that isn't much of an accomplishment - but to me it does mean something.  I'm not sure I actually lost any weight, but I feel better which is makes it worth it.

The mountain bike trails at West Branch State Park finally opened up over Memorial Day weekend.  Word was that they were still a little bit soft, but good enough to ride.  Last weekend I had a short window of time and headed out to give them a try.  I rode for an hour and a half, and was pleased to see that the trail was in good condition.  The local mountain bike club, CAMBA, had also done some great work with new trail reroutes at a couple of areas. 

But the thing that made me feel best was the fact that I was riding great.  I'm never a fast rider, but keep up a consistent pace that allows my sketchy breathing to keep up with the demands of the trail. But I rode the first half of the ride, at least a couple of miles, without a dab (putting a foot down).  The hills were still tough - but maybe not quite as tough as I remember them.  And when I was out of time I still felt like I had a good deal of energy left.  I'm attributing all of this to all those pavement miles earlier in the spring, building up my legs and my cardio, giving me a small improvement this year over last.  And at my age I'll take any improvement that I can get!

In news besides bicycling, Diana and I spent a bit of time together including a quick trip up to Lake Erie at Ashtabula.  I always enjoy the lakeside, and it can be a fun trip getting up there.

Lookout - a selfie!

Ken has made it through another year of school without going nuts (or driving me nuts).  The school band got its marching program together and made their yearly excursion in the Memorial Day parade.  He's getting better and better on his sax, to the point where it's fun to listen to him practice now.

Ken is the sax player near center, above the brunette clarinet player.
 

I've been out and about on the weekends with Dave, getting out on the back roads and seeing some sights out in the boonies.

Possible micro whitewater just outside of Youngstown??!?

This month I plan on letting the mileage totals take care of themselves while I focus on spending some quality time riding shorter miles on dirt.  So I wouldn't be surprised if June's total mileage was below 200.  But that's okay - mileage totals aren't why I ride.  FUN is why I ride!

Fight Entropy!

Oh the humanity

So I've got a BIG deadline coming up at work next week.  And the Fates laughed at my stress and sent me a summons to jury duty for the week before - absolutely the worst time.  I could tell it was predestined that I would end up serving since I was the first one called out of about 100 people, and they seated me on a civil case right away.  It's been three days of testimony so far - hopefully we'll be done tomorrow and I'll be able to get back to work.  And to top it off, this is not a fun case - very tough.

But having jury duty has changed up my schedule for a couple of days, and that's always good.  I've had enough time before court starts that I've been able to take Kenny to school and then hurry out to the rail trail and crank out a couple of miles before I had to head in to jury duty.  I'd much rather be out riding on the dirt, and I probably could find the time, but after spending so many hours building trails it actually pains me to leave ruts in the dirt - and so I make the most of what is available.

I managed to get in about 20 miles this morning, in unseasonably warm temperatures of nearly 50 degrees.  All the snow has melted once again, and everything in the woods is wet.  If I had the time it would be great to be able to get the kayak out and take advantage of the high water, but right now my time is at a premium.  I'm very lucky to be able to fit in these short rides during jury duty time, and I know it.

Another nice thing about getting in those rail trail rides is that I've managed to get in some sort of decent exercise for the last eight days.  I've got my MapMyRide nutrition and exercise routines back in full swing, with some good calorie counts for the last week.  My legs are actually feeling pretty good for the first time since October, when I fractured my skull and fell out of the routine.

Now I'd like to place bicycle riding exercise in a list, ranked by increasing fun levels.  The least fun is not riding at all and moping around home sitting on the couch.  Shortly above that is riding the stationary bike in the basement - exercise but mind boggling-ly boring.  Only slightly less boring is the next step, riding on the local rail trail, which can still almost put me to sleep.  Next higher in the fun hierarchy is road riding on pavement - although this can be quite exciting as people try to run you over, sic their dogs on you, or throw trash at you from their car windows.  Note that road riding in town can be more fun, but you can also get twice as many threats of bodily harm.  The next step up would be riding familiar singletrack on a quick outing - fun, fun, fun but the feeling of exploration isn't there.  And the best time you can have bicycling is a long day on new trails, riding and finding out what's there and how you can use it.  This list hasn't been blessed by Fatcyclist or anything, but I feel completely confident in stating that this is the same order all mountain bikers everywhere would list.  Thus spake swampboy.

One of the things that I check on the web every day that I have a chance is the Picture of the Day on Pinkbike.  The forums aren't that great - the ones at MTBR are a dozen times better - but the POD is almost always great.  Check out the one for today - a great shot from Switzerland that would make a great desktop.  The Pinkbike POD is one of those things that makes life better - like Altoids, Motorhead and Molson XXX (and mountain biking). 

Right now it looks as if there's a good chance that I'll have to go in to work this weekend to get things ready for the big deadline.  I'm just hoping (praying, begging) that I'll have some free time and an opportunity to either ride or paddle.  Even though it's been a poor imitation of winter, I have a nasty case of cabin fever and am positively itching to get out and prowl around.