Of roads, fireroads and trails...

So today I decided that I would give myself 3 hours to ride. For me there's really nowhere else to ride right now other than the Cove.  I can't take time to drive elsewhere, plus I know the Cove and I can get there and back in good time.  Since I was giving myself an additional hour to ride, I decided to ride my bike from home to the boat dock side of the fireroad and go from there. 

I rode from home through some neighborhood streets to get to Rt 11.  I was on 11 for a short period of time before turning onto Reservoir Road.  I had forgotten how hilly Reservoir Road is and found it to be rather challenging.  Nevertheless I forged on.  It took me about 30 minutes to get to the fireroad.  Once there, I could relax more.  It was wet, muddy in places and humid on this side of the Cove. We had a pretty decent thunderstorm last night which left a few puddles on the fireroad.  I decided that I would ride Arrowhead first and actually overshot the trailhead.  Once I started up, I did ok until it got really messy which messed me up.  I walked a short bit then rode up the big water crossing.  I started to try it then weenied out.  I walked a short bit after that.  I did ride into the next water crossing, but couldn't pedal out because I was in the wrong gear.  I successfully negotiated the next two crossings.  Surprisingly to myself, I made it to the top of Arrowhead pretty easily.  I was happy!  The descent is sketchy, yet fun.  I managed not to wreck, so that's always a plus. 

Next I decided to tackle Songbird.  This direction is usually a tad harder for me, but again I managed surprisingly well.  I think I was determined to get up the trails as easily as possible, but without killing myself on the climbs.  After zooming down the end of Songbird, I had to decide whether to go with original plan of climbing 1000' to Connector to the parking lot.  According to my calculations, I was not going to have time to do this today, so I turned around at the base of 1000' to return to the boat dock.  I stopped at the Songbird trailhead to talk to a couple of other riders before heading on.  I made myself ride as fast as possible for as long as possible until I arrived at Enchanted Forest.  I rode this section pretty well (skipped the log crossing).  Onto the Little Bell for a quick jaunt over to Schoolhouse.  On Schoolhouse, I managed all of the water crossings without hesitation.  The first creek was cool and refreshing!  Once I got to the picnic table, I decided to stop and have a granola bar.  I knew that once I got back to the fireroad I was going to have a task ahead.  The fireroad on that side of the Cove has more short steep climbs plus I had to get out of the parking lot back to Rt 11 which sucks royally for about the first 1/2 mile.

While I was enjoying my granola bar, I kept watching what I assume were fish jumping out of the water.  I heard a big splash and looked expecting to see a bird with a fish in it's grasp, but saw nothing.  Maybe it was the Loch Ness Monster or a dolphin.  HA HA HA, I know I know.  Anyway, enjoyed the short break before heading on my way.  Again, I tried to ride as quickly as I could - I still feel so slow and I definitely get tired easily.  The fireroad wasn't incredibly painful and seemed to go by fairly quickly.  Before I knew it was granny-gearing it up Reservoir Rd.  Once you get out of the bottom, you can roll on pretty fast.  Today I think I hit 30mph on the road at some point.  Once back at 11, I had to decide which way to go home.  I have several options, but today chose the most direct.

Arrived home after 27 miles and 2:42 of riding.  I really enjoyed my day.  I'm tired now, my legs/knees hurt and my head hurts (always does after rides anymore).  I'm going to sit and enjoy my evening while watching TV.  I've worked on writing assignments today and have a bit more to do, but it can just wait until after work tomorrow.  After all it is going to be raining!