Rides & Trail Work

Back on the trail Tuesday. I decided to fore go the Tuesday Evening Ride from the bike shop. Instead I rode dirt at Manawa. The trails are dry (except for 1 ditch), hard, and fast.
It felt that I was riding closely to the same as my hardtail. Good lines, increasing speed, etc. When I got the bike to the shop for Wednesday Morning Ride, I realized that the rear shock was locked! Now wonder it was riding like my 4300.

Wednesday dawned clear, crisp, and cool. A good morning for our ride. Riders: Randy, Greg, Zach and me. We did our normal ride from the shop to Lake Manawa, rode the trails there and headed back to the shop. I could feel the difference now - riding with the rear shock in v. locked. Still getting is used to the new bike - but riding better each time I am out.
Just ended the ride when my friend Chuck called - he wanted to come over for help picking out a bike. Took him to Xtreme Wheels, where he ended purchasing a Navigator 30.
From there - Trail work. I met Steve (Manawa Trail Leader) and Martin to clear the 3 dead falls and hopefully make repairs to the big tree crossing. Andrew (another rider from XW stopped by when working on the log crossing - helped with us.
When I got home I was tired - not mentioning sore legs. See how I feel today - if I am going to ride later.

Middle Falls Trail overlooks

Yesterday I posted a picture of Middle Falls in Grand Portage State Park and mentioned the ridge-top overlooks that are along the trail. The photo aboveis taken from the part of the ridge that overlooks Lake Superior. Out in the lake on the left side of the photo you can see a portion of the Susie Islands archipelago, on the right edge of the photo is Hat Point. In between lies Wauswaugoning Bay and Francis Island. It sure is a beautiful view and is certainly worth the hike up the ridge!



































After taking in the view of Lake Superior, you can continue to the back side of the ridge for a view of the Pigeon River Valley (above photo). This view, in my opinion, is just as impressive and enjoyable to take in as the view toward the lake. Near the middle of the photo you can see the river as it makes its way toward Lake Superior. High Falls of the Pigeon River is just out of sight on the right edge of this photo. Remember, the Pigeon River is the border between the U.S. and Canada, so all of the land across the river from this viewpoint is in the province of Ontario, Canada! You can also see a glimpse of Lake Superior to the right. FYI - this trail makes for a wonderful fall color hike :-)

Awesome Ice!

Let the sun shine! Today was such a nice day, that I went for a walk on the ice for about 2 miles down the shore from my house. The ice is about 2 feet thick now, which means its plenty safe to walk on and what an interesting way to explore the shore! Not to mention easier. Most places along the lakeshore its difficult to walk because of all the rocks and boulders. The ice makes it much easier, because right next to shore its very smooth. About 30 to 50 feet from shore, there are ice piles here and there. Today I just wandered with the camera and when something caught my eye I snapped a picture of it.

(Above: Ice cave ceiling)

The Goat Track

I spent last weekend in Brisbane and didn't manage to get as much time to ride as I'd planned. I did manage a quick climb out of Samford over Mt Nebo the "back" way. It's actually an extremely pleasant climb for anyone who can handle a reasonable quality dirt road. In this litigation-crazy society, it wasn't at all surprising to see a heap of warning signs at the bottom of the climb, but they can be quite diligently ignored.

The climb itself has a comfortable gradient, and offers great views over a gorge below, finishing in rainforest at the top. The summit of Mt Nebo is, in fact, a few kilometres closer to the city. The Goat Track actually rejoins Mt Glorious road in a saddle between Mt Nebo and Mt Glorious. This actually provides the option of picking your pass so to speak. As it was, I was short of time on Saturday, and I'd wasted enough of that battling a westerly wind to get here, so I opted for Mt Nebo only. Nonetheless, it made for a pleasant detour on a weekend that was really way too busy.

Too sweet

I said that bugs are attracted to me because I'm so sweet. My husband had to point out that they're really more attracted to... other things.
Hackberry emperor, Asterocampa celtis. His favorite foods: Sap, rotting fruit, dung, carrion.
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I like that Butterflies and Moths of North America site and their detailed range maps. You can get a custom list of the butterflies in your state. It even goes down to county level, but I'm not sure if all counties have the same level of detail.
Here's another one for the more common Alabama butterflies.

Early Summer Morning, Two Island River

Yesterday morning on my way to see the Herons I stopped for some photography along Two Island River just south of Tofte, MN. I've always wanted to stop along this river and after countless times over the years driving right past, I finally took the time to stop. There are some beautiful rapids and gentle cascading waterfalls such as this just above the highway. A little further upstream a nice taller waterfall plunges into a pool at the base of a small cliff. All in all I had a blast photographing this short section of the river and I can't wait to stop there again!

A Peaceful, Thatched, Church

St Peter's Church, Markby

The last time I visited this church(if you click on the link you will find lots of other photographs and history of the building)I was charmed by the exterior, but was disappointed to find that the inside was draped with polythene, it was being re-decorated.
Much of the stone is recycled, from the Augustinian Priory which originally stood nearby.

Interior of Markby Church

The simplicity of the exterior is beautifully matched by the interior.The box pews are 19thC.The dog-toothed decoration on the arch, remnants from the priory, are Norman.

Simple windows add to the sense of peace and tranquillity.

Through this plain little window you can see the overhang of the thatched roof.

This little rose sculpture - approx 5"x 6" is13thC.

This is the former cross beam, it is made of oak and is dated 1611, which is when the church was built.
It is a beautiful and peaceful little building.
Obviously much loved.
It was well worth the wait, and a return visit.

A few weeks earlier there had been a wedding service held there.

Nice to know the old building is still used for joyful

occasions.

Tour of Palm Coast

I wanted to re-ride some of the trails we took on the Christmas Eve Ride. Monday, I parked the car at Waterfront Park. Headed North along the InterCoastal Waterway.
The photo here is of the Waterfront Trail.
The trail ends at the Palm Coast resort/marina. From there I rode North along Palm Harbor Parkway for a mile or so. Rode back down to the Linear Park trail. When that ended, I turned back, riding back to the Waterfront Trail. Back at the park, rode the spur trail over to Colbert Ln and back.
Was a beautiful day for a bike ride - Sunny and 69 degrees. Turned in 11 miles, which took me just over 1500 miles for the year.

Pride comes before...

We maybe don't do friendlies, but we don't do wins either. Saturday's score: Wales 3, Scotland 0.