Saturday, September 8, 2007

A Little Off the Road

As the first week of our holiday slipped by we made a quick trip to Flatland Harbour to visit the folks and took Brandyn with us. I took B'Ridge in the back of the truck just in case the weather was dry enough for a ride, and after a great lunch and 3 full hours without rain! I headed out. I had mapped out a plan the night before and was hoping to ride for 3 hours or so. I headed back up Margaret St. and then took the Sturgeon Bay Road which meant an immediate climb and then the longest and steepest decent I've made all year. Both of the hills that had me walking on my ride out earlier in August were on the menu today but first I got to go down them. The climb out was much worse than either of them, especially around Mink Mountain. That one seemed to go on forever. I would crest a portion and another would appear. After realizing that Marin put a 'granny' gear on for just this reason I got my second wind and was good for the rest of the ride.
I made the 10.6km back to Walker Road (generously named) and headed south. After a km or so the gravel road narrowed, and then narrowed again and again until I found myself negotiating two rock filled ruts through the bush. My only fear was hitting a sharp rock with 60 lbs. in the tires, my weight on the frame and picking up a flat 5km from nowhere. I finally turned back to face the waiting hills after a fallen birch blocked the trail. B'Ridge and I climbed the hills and arrived back after about 2hrs and 45 min.

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