Slow Learner...
Every year I tell myself I should take it easy on my first bike ride of the season, because I'm not in great shape after not getting out for months and I know it's gonna hurt tomorrow. And every year I completely ignore my own sage advice. I have a crappy saving throw against the urge to explore.
But I saw some cool things. Got reasonably close to two or three red-tailed hawks. Found a crazy overgrown amphitheater on a hillside behind Daniel Boone village - really curious as to what it used to be, it could once seat a fairly large number of people. Also found a bunch of platforms in trees in the nearby woods... which I eventually decided were actually hunting blinds for deer and maybe I should go somewhere else (though honestly I think most of them were long disused, not surprisingly given the nearby new construction (and hey, at least I had my bright orange t-shirt that I like to wear for road visibility anyway)).
Anyway, by the end (I stayed out almost three hours, though I wasn't actively biking the entire time) I had totally exhausted myself, but I managed to make my route back intersect with the nearby Maple View Farms outlet. Mmm, nothing like fresh ice cream (PBJ flavor!) to make the pain recede, at least for a while.
Edit: No wonder I'm sore: http://www.gmap-pedometer.com/?r=3527366
It's not ridiculously long, but 10.2 miles for first trip of the season is still a bit much, and that's actually a significant under-estimate because the map is straight-lining its way through a lot of twisty off-road stuff, not to mention I don't think I captured all the circles I went in. Also check out the comment thread where tiercel digs up some history of what I probably saw.
But I saw some cool things. Got reasonably close to two or three red-tailed hawks. Found a crazy overgrown amphitheater on a hillside behind Daniel Boone village - really curious as to what it used to be, it could once seat a fairly large number of people. Also found a bunch of platforms in trees in the nearby woods... which I eventually decided were actually hunting blinds for deer and maybe I should go somewhere else (though honestly I think most of them were long disused, not surprisingly given the nearby new construction (and hey, at least I had my bright orange t-shirt that I like to wear for road visibility anyway)).
Anyway, by the end (I stayed out almost three hours, though I wasn't actively biking the entire time) I had totally exhausted myself, but I managed to make my route back intersect with the nearby Maple View Farms outlet. Mmm, nothing like fresh ice cream (PBJ flavor!) to make the pain recede, at least for a while.
Edit: No wonder I'm sore: http://www.gmap-pedometer.com/?r=3527366
It's not ridiculously long, but 10.2 miles for first trip of the season is still a bit much, and that's actually a significant under-estimate because the map is straight-lining its way through a lot of twisty off-road stuff, not to mention I don't think I captured all the circles I went in. Also check out the comment thread where tiercel digs up some history of what I probably saw.