I've learned a lot since last year; lets' give the treacherous Ottawa Park Trail another go.

              You may remember last year I rode my bike on the Ottawa Park bike trail and it was quite the challenge.  First of all, the trail is older than dinosaurs, and the over grown tree roots along with the settling have caused many cracks and uneven surfaces.  I had just gotten my new road bike and felt like a 5 year old on training wheels back then.

          I had memories of the fearful ride but told myself I'm more confident on my bike now.  Starting out, this trail seemed like a breeze.

     Sure, the pavement was a little bumpy at first but it was workable...

     It wasn't long before I started running into the challenges I had remembered from a year ago.  There were craters right in front of this bridge, followed by a big wooden plank and then the extremely uneven wooden bridge it's self.  Needless to say, we got off our bikes and walked them over.

     When I saw this yellow sign warning me of the monstrous hill, the one that last year I rode all white knuckled down to the bottom... well I wasn't afraid of it this time, and amazingly my knuckles were merely pink:) 

          When I had made it in one piece almost to the end I knew I had finally mastered it... until I saw this...

     The storm from a week ago had knocked this tree down, blocking the trail.  I slammed on my brakes and then realized we now had to turn around.  Oh well, it was no big deal... 
                                        
     Until it occurred to me it was just as steep going back up....  I knew it was bad when I saw my riding buddy get off his bike and finish walking it up.
                                        

     This hill was about a 90 degree angle and gravity was definitely not on our side this time.  It didn't take long before I was off my bike and walking it up as well.

     It didn't make sense that a bike trail would be so steep that riders were forced to walk their bikes up.  But then again, this trail wasn't meant to go in this direction. The steep hill starts in the park and by the time you get to the end of the trail, the hill going back up is stretched out over quite a bit of distance through the park.

     This was merely one more point of interest to add to an otherwise conquered trail.  Just when I think I have a trail figured out there always seems to be something new for me to conquer.  Kind of like life... I think I have it figured out, and before I know it something new gets thrown my way to make it interesting.

          By the time we made it back to the parking lots we rode right into a car show and the park was swarming with a million antique cars; Just one more obstacle in our course.

     It's true that I'm a creature of habit and I love living in my safe zone, but I'm starting to realize if I had all the answers I would have no use for faith.  I've been guided down some confusing paths in the past but I've never been steered wrong; because as you can see... I am still here!

Have a great day!!

Christine:)