Sterling Park; I finally finished my bucket list!!

Even my face says COLD

      I told you I was gonna do it!! It was nip and tuck until the end, but last Thursday I made it to my final bike trail on my bucket list.

     My plan was to go to Sterling Park on Wednesday, then I  would bring my bike inside, where I'd put it on a trainer for the winter.  I knew that had to be the day because the weather forecast was predicting freezing rain, or maybe even snow for the end of the week.  Oh, and then the time changes on the weekend and we lose an hour of daylight to boot.  It had to happen... 

     Unfortunately, the best laid plans don't always go as planned... The Wednesday ride wasn't able to happen.  Sadly, I was ready to throw in the towel, bring my bike inside and hope for next year.

     But then Thursday came around And I just couldn't let a little cold weather defeat me.  I've bundled up before and I could just think of it as sledding, but on a bike:)

          Looking at the pictures you would think it was still summer, but pictures don't have thermometers, and I'm here to tell you it was a little cold.

        Geography isn't my strong suit but after some research I found out the body of water going through this park was part of River Raisin which feeds into Lake Erie.  How about that... a bike ride and a lesson:)

              My brother has been to this park many times and told me that they actually charge 7 bucks to park your car, and that seemed a little crazy, but paying 7 dollars to make it to my last park on my list was worth it.  However, here was the bonus to going on a bone chilling day; no one was willing to freeze just to collect my money, and that was my consolation prize:)

      As you can see this trail was by no means perfect for training; the cracks and uneven surface made it quite a challenge.  But this ride was about the principle and it was actually kind of nice getting out in the cold brisk air;)

          From this view it seemed as though I was looking out at the ocean from a warm sandy beach, but my frozen nose and ice sickle fingers reminded me that wasn't the case.

         So this is one last look at my bike outside, and after this ride my bike will be nice and cozy indoors.  However, I have to admit this was a true victory ride for me, because I did what I set out to do.  I had a great summer of riding and I'm anxious to find more trails next spring:)

     The next time you see me it will be training from inside where it's warm, and until spring I'm hoping you'll help me continue to build my team for the next MS bike to the bay!!

Have a great day!!

Christine:)