Sometimes good rides are
very short ones…they don’t take you anywhere new, they just give you pleasure
because you did them. We had two short
September rides that were just such times.
First, we took advantage of a beautiful fall evening and rode the
Towpath trail of the FW Rivergreenway.
It is one of my favorite paths because it starts in a park, goes through
a bit of residential area, and then finishes with a decidedly rural feel of
cornfields and open spaces at Eagle Marsh..all in FW and within a few miles. It was an unremarkable ride, but it felt good
to ride after work, enjoying the outdoors and the quiet that biking brings. |
| VIEW FROM THE WESTERN END OF THE TOWPATH, 4 MILES FROM DOWNTOWN FW |
Of course, I can’t go near
downtown on a ride without stopping at my favorite Starbucks (see "There and Back" blogpost ),
even if we rode there in a car after the bike ride. I had a coupon for a free drink of any size,
so I ordered a venti Pumpkin Spice latte to share w/ Tom at one of the outside
tables. Of course, he had to bring
papers to grade (can’t have even one free night when you are an English teacher)
but I enjoyed the time “posting” our status at SB on my Facebook page and
watching parts of the FW Tincaps playoff game on the big screen down the
street. It was a perfect nightcap to a
perfect night ride.
Just a few days later, the Johnny
Appleseed festival was held in Johnny Appleseed park, through which the path of
the Rivergreenway trail system goes through.
After finding out the FW Trails group was sponsoring secure bike parking
at the festival, we decided to forgo the huge lines of traffic waiting to
park/leave by parking at IPFW University and riding our bikes into the
festival. The plan was flawless as we arrived, parked our bikes just inside the
festival entrance (and received our claims
tickets for them), and entered the festival in record time.
 |
| PRAIRIE FIRE STRING BAND PERFORMING AT JOHNNY APPLESEED FESTIVAL |
As always, biking and eating
go hand in hand, and we enjoyed apple rollup pancakes, caramel corn, ham and beans and corn bread, and apple cider
as we strolled through the booths and watched pioneer aficionados demonstrate
old fashioned skills and perform old folk songs to modern audiences. It was at one of these “concerts” that Santa
sat down on the bench in front of us.
How did I know it was Santa? The
beard, the belly…and the giant belt buckle that said “SANTA” gave it away. Who knew Santa was a fan of country
bluegrass?
 |
| "YOU-KNOW-WHO" ENJOYING SOME BLUEGRASS MUSIC BEFORE HIS BUSY SEASON STARTS! |
While neither ride covered
significant mileage or covered new ground, the memories of both adventures will
stay with me as memories tied to our bikes….NICE!
The stats: Towpath: 8.4 miles (RT), Time: 49:44 , ODO: 440
miles
Johnny Appleseed Festival
2.065 miles (RT), Time: 17:22, ODO: 442.07
Notable Nature Sightings:
none
Oxymoron Sighting: Surely Santa announcing his presence at the September Johnny Appleseed Festival through
a belt buckle constitutes an oxymoronic moment, dontcha think?
SOOOOO glad you included the photo! Only you, SueLough would run into Santa at a fall festival. :-)
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