April (snow) Showers

Mother nature has really jammed on the breaks regarding Spring this year. There were roughly five snow storms since I last posted on DWR in February. The last one squeezed in on April 2nd.

April 2nd snow... noooo

This was coupled with the rapid approach of the unofficial beginning of the Spring/Summer season: Bike 'n Brew with Edge of the Woods Outfitters. I was set to lead the 16-mile ride and I had barely rode at all during this not-so-young 2018. I mean outdoor riding, not just trainer "riding" (and I haven't been doing much of that either).

Finally, the mercury rose on April 12th, just two days before Bike 'n Brew, and I logged just my 2nd ride of the season. This was definitely my ride to shake the dust off, fitness-wise. I did 13 miles on the McDade: Hialeah to the park HQ and back.

DWGNRA HQ with the big rubber

The taco truck gets a gravel outing

I certainly had some rust to burn off. My legs creaked and burned for the first 20 minutes and my breathing was way off, but all this is akin to the fiddleheads making their crunchy emergence from the dirt and dried leaves of last Fall. Warmup ride accomplished.

Map of the Thursday 13-miler

Saturday for Bike 'n Brew brought the best weather you could ask for. It topped out at 85 degrees and was blazingly sunny. While the 16 miles from Shawnee Resort to the HQ and back kicked my ass, it went better than expected. The post-ride beer from Shawnee Craft was highly refreshing.

I only snapped one photo, too busy being "in the moment", as they say. There were about 150 riders this year, the largest collection yet of dirt rollers for Bike 'n Brew ready to kick off the season. I'll post the map for the ride below.

February Bike Rides

That phrase conjures layer upon layer of high-tech clothing, frozen toes, iced-up componentry and frozen snot. In reality, the mercury hit the 50's twice last week and will do so a few times this week. In case you've missed the posting date of this piece, it's mid-February. Apparently that's now a great time for biking!

I hit one of my local trails, the McDade Recreational Trail. It's a non-technical dirt and gravel trail that runs along the Deleware River and through the national recreation area. It's good for just getting out there and rolling, but not for gnarly riding. Sometimes that's just your groove. It's beautiful and relaxing - a good head clearing cruise. I snapped the photo above that captures some of the intoxicating Winter skyline.

It's that skyline and sunset, in fact, that are two reminders that this is still February, your Spring Fever be damned. The sun still sets early as your first reminder, so lights are a necessity if you're an after work rider. Secondly, the twilight skies are decidedly not Summer. The sun slices at an angle out of the West and fires its flares through the clouds as a warning that the night will indeed be cold.

-g

MRT Monday Nine Miler

A different day, a different configuration of the close-and-convenient McDade trail. I pushed out nine miles by riding from Smithfield access to the park headquarters and back. The stretch between Smithfield and the River's Edge access point has a bit of cornfield boring-ness, but the warm weather is still fresh, so anything rocks right now.

North of Smithfield

I decided to spice up the ride by endangering my cell for a quick video of the parking lot cruise back to my truck at sunset.

Everything survived, I didn't crash broadside into my truck and destroy the phone. I'll embed the map below.

[g]

McDade HQ, hills and 20k Taco

There's a little bike trip on the McDade Recreational Trail that is short of distance, but packs some climbing alongside a great scenic view. I take the Riverview parking lot up to the park headquarters, which requires a couple hundred feet of climbing to the HQ and ride back the way I came. It's a my fitness ride, of sorts, that only works because I enjoy the view the entire way. You see, I'm not really that big a fan of fitness for fitness sake. More like FFS, the typical interpretation of that.

Beware of the mastodon, at park HQ

There is a good little extension on the way back to add more elevation, in that you can take the spur up to Turn Farm and back to climb and descend about 100 feet. If you're feeling froggy, you can pass Riverview, where you're parked, and head towards the Smithfield access to extend your trip, maybe get some sun on the way in the corn fields. Sometimes there's corn in the fields, I should say.

I completed the ride by driving up the dirt road by Zion church, only to realize that my Toyota Tacoma just surpassed 20,000 miles, which begged for a photo op.

20,00 miles, still cherry, not even broken in for a Tacoma

This dirt road is an easygoing bit of offroad that carries you near the top of the ridge on the Pennsylvania side of the Delaware. Take a left at the "Y" and you'll roll onto the unpaved portion of Mosier's Knob Road, which travels along the top of the ridge. There are a number of fields and an abandoned farmstead along this road, with some views of the river valley sprinkled in.

Mosier's Knob dirt road empties onto it's paved rendition, and that takes you back nearby Shawnee on Delaware. It's a nice little piece of "out there" driving to finish up a ride. Although, I do have to start remembering to bring a growler with me to fill it up on the way home with some Shawnee Craft brew at the Gem & Keystone or the brewery itself at Shawnee.

[g]

The "passed out after work" Ride

Work all day, come home, pass out on the couch. I can't figure out my energy level arc, but it's definitely lowest between 2 and 7PM. It's been like this for at least ten years. It wreaks havoc with work and personal life. I lose several hours of productive nine-to-fiver work, then get home, put my bike shorts on and go full REM on the couch for an hour.

During other times of this is fatal for doing anything healthy after work. I was determined to do something tonight, so I got my shit together and headed out to the McDade trail at 7:40 PM. Yawning the entire drive, I was content with going from the Riverview trailhead to the park headquarters and back. A little over four miles round trip but with 400 feet of ascent. The Google Maps link is here, and here's an embedded version below.



I finished the ride after sundown and had to toss the bike on the tailgate of the truck and jump in immediately due to clouds of mosquitoes scoping out my truck. Yes, they are back folks. We have arrived.

And now, while I feel like I have more energy than I've had all day, I have to convince myself I have some kind of "normal" circadian rhythm and attempt to get to sleep by midnight. If only to bank more energy for more rides or hikes, that is! Take that, normal life! Ah, I'm trying.

[gjn]