COFFEE, APPLES, AND SANTA

Sept. 12 and 16, 2012  PEDALS adventures: 

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?

300 MILES!

July 14, 2012  PEDALS adventure:  Today was a milestone ride…my Odometer rolled over to 300 miles!  Since I didn’t have the odometer from the first day I owned the bike, it is accurate to say that there are over 300 actual miles that I have ridden on the bike.  But, it is fun to watch the miles roll over and put some “stakes in the ground” so to speak and celebrate 300 miles of pedaling adventures.



Largest tree we have seen that was toppled by 90+ winds

The momentous ride was the FW Rivergreenway Towpath that started at Rockhill Park.  It is one of my favorite FW rides, because I have done it twice at night (in the dark in September) with the FW Parks Department.   It is a little urban and then goes out along some crop land, through some wetlands, and ends at Lutheran Hospital by I-69.  It is a flat ride, with lots of green, but not a lot of shade!

 We had stopped at the bike shop for some equipment adjustments, so we didn’t get started until late morning.   Consequently we were riding in the middle of a very sunny 90+ degree day.  It actually wasn’t as bad as it sounds because the humidity was relatively low.   We have rides planned in Missouri and Michigan in the next few weeks that may have to take place in hot, humid weather if we are to do them at all, so this was good training for those rides.

The bad part about the towpath is that there is no place to stop for a snack or drink.  We knew that we were close to Jefferson Blvd. where there is a strip mall with a coffee shop, but  there was no way to get there without riding on a busy street.  We did investigate a small housing addition for a thru-way, but the only thing we got for our trouble was the most awesome street sign we have ever seen: Octagon Square.  Talk about an oxymoron.

OCTAGON SQUARE
Seriously? 

The path ended on Jefferson Blvd. across from the entrance to the Lutheran Hospital Campus, which actually serves as a link to the Aboite trails on the other side of their property.  Under the category of  “Every Successful Bike Trip Contains a Food Stop,” we decided to cross on over and visit the Lutheran Hospital cafeteria for a break and some food.   Actually, it was an enjoyable meal as we split a giant tenderloin, a large bottle of G2 and a chocolate Otis Spunkmeyer muffin.  We were glad to get out of the sun and get some drink into us before heading back.

The ride back was uneventful, except for pedaling our 300^th mile just as we returned to Rockhill Park.  We took some time to inspect the storm damaged trees at the park and decided they were the largest  we had seen that were just ripped out of the ground.   Wonder what it would have sounded like to be in the park at that time? 

The stats: 11.56 (RT), Time: 1 hrs. 15 min, ODO: 300.31 miles

Notable Nature Sightings:  The largest trees we’ve seen that were uprooted by the storm.  

Oxymoron Sighting:  A street sign that says “Octagon Square”