bluekat's Journeys

Morning in the forest is soooo wonderful. Good for the soul, or whatever. Did one of my regular routes. It's been over a month since I've been here. How did a whole month go by? That explains why my legs are so sore this afternoon. It would also explain why the trail looked so lush and overgrown with a new crop of wildflowers to distract me from my workout. Carpenteria californica, or so Google says. Heck you didn't think I'd come up with the latin name did you? It was the usual stuff. Hike up, run down until the legs are thrashed. Then hobble back to the car. The hike up was at a pretty good pace, I think. I jogged some of the lesser inclines. Ran from Peavy down to the lake, about a mile. Stopping to fuss after things in my pack and what have you, so I had some short breaks. Fern. (I figured that one out myself!) I fell once. The upside of trail running, if you're lucky you will face plant into a soft part of the trail. No harm done, and the lady I pa...

Compared to yesterday's wind and rain, today is beautiful. Since I didn't get my Wednesday ride in I decided to go for a hike today. Can't waste these nice fall days. They'll soon be history. It's hunting season at the refuge. Bicycling on the trails is forbidden as is running/jogging anywhere within the refuge. No dogs allowed either. The reasoning is these activities are too disruptive to wildlife. Apparently shooting the wildlife with noisy guns is not disruptive to wildlife. BTW I agree with the ban on dogs and bikes. :) Would love to trail run though. I hiked two loops, Mill Hill loop and Woodpecker Loop, as well as the intertie trail that connects the two. About 4 miles probably. My bicycle computer (Garmin) didn't work well at walking speed and hidden under the trees. It only recorded about 30 minutes/half mile of the hike. I imagine a true gps unit would fare better. Pretty day. Nice weather. I'm happy. Beautiful old oak tree. Grey...

Two Friends Some friends invited us to go for a little ride on Sunday. Friends don't let friends climb hills... and hills... Linda and Wally Two Hills Wally has ridden Dan's trail from Chip Ross Park in Corvallis. Ron and I have ridden Dan's trail from the Jackson Creek access. Wally's version included an extra hill. Thanks Wally! A Whole Bunch of Climbing We took the long route to the top of Chip Ross Hill. In this case longer is easier. The view from the top is pretty nice. Chip Ross Park We find the lower access to Dan's trail on our way down behind the park. I took one tumble on a sharp switchback, a stupid-can't-unclip-fast-enough fall. Weighted the inside pedal on the turn. Looked at my foot, looked at the ground and .... went where I looked. Miniscule amount of carnage to knees, not enough for bragging rights. It's been 5 or 6 years since I've biked this area and it's different than I remember. The climbing is the sa...

Today is our first bicycle ride of 2010. A little wet, but not too cold and no wind made for a pretty good ride around Corvallis. 25 miles more or less. The bike computer died, so that's the best estimate. 25 down, 1975 to go. A kawi is parked at the start location. I've seen it here before, and I have to take it's picture. I never have to take pictures of cars or bicycles unless they're some kind of classic still on the road. But I'm compelled to shoot motorcycles. I wonder if other riders take pictures of mine? Maybe I should wash her now and then. Since it's a short ride day, we decide to ride the tandem. Ron gets Kermit dusted off, aired up, and ready to go. It's also time to start my training using the G11 on the bike. It doesn't fit in my hand like the little fuji. A few shots to the front. A few to the back. I'll need more practice before I take it to the Suzi. It's fun to be back on the tandem, but I'm afraid it'll neve...

Rode in McDonald Forest last Sunday, Davies-Nettleton loop. The scenery was awesome. Pics don't do it justice.