Is 39 too cold for a bike ride??

     I know "old man winter" is knocking at my door, but I'm not letting him in until I get a few more bike rides in... or am I??

     The other day a few of us planned to do a morning bike ride, in spite of the bone chilling weather forecast.  A little cold weather wasn't going to stop me. Remember, I'm a Scorpio; we don't quit!  And sun rises are just as beautiful in cold weather...

     We had planned on checking out the new park in the middle of Downtown Toledo.  It was called Middlegrounds Park.  What a clever name! They must have brain stormed forever on that one...

     As you can see; I had every inch of skin covered, except my face, and there was no way I was gonna freeze.  With an under armour turtleneck, a fleece vest, knee sox, winter bike gloves and a winter bike jacket, I was set for a blizzard.

     As the first of my riding buddies, Gary, was getting out of his car I noticed a police car pulling up to me.  He rolled down his window, and I began to wonder what crime I had committed already, at only 8 o'clock in the morning.

     The first thing the police officer said as I approached his car was "I just wanted warn you about where you are".  Being a little perplexed I said "excuse me...?"  He replied "you're under the high level bridge, and you just need to be conscious of the possible shady characters roaming around."  I told him now he was scaring me... Maybe There were trolls under the bridge; I'm sure that's real...

     As Gary walked up, the officer mentioned we probably didn't have to worry because  the trouble makers were probably still sleeping.  Gary smiled and thanked the officer.  There may have been an eye roll involved...

     I asked Gary if we should rethink this ride.  He reassured me by telling me that this was a railroad police officer; they go out of their way to be the informants on possible riff-raff.  I was a little more at ease, I think...

     It wasn't long before the others arrived, and we knew we needed to get on those bikes if we ever wanted to get this ride over with.

     I will say, this was a nice little park, even if it was freezing, and filled with potential hoodlums:)

     A couple of the pics were a little blurry, but I was lucky to take my gloves off to take them at all.  My fingers felt like they would break off if you were to Karate chop them.

     Just imagine how beautiful the picture of these flowers would have looked if I wasn't in such a hurry to get my gloves back on... 

                                          

       Walking, maybe, but this wasn't my idea of a bike trail... 

                                

          It was more like ice skating with rollerblades...

                             

     But if you were careful to see it through, the view of the river was well worth the aggravation.

     I guess they never claimed this was a bike trail; it was a park, after all, so I couldn't hardly complain about the riding conditions; besides, no one would listen...

     One more look at the sunrise, and it was time to find that "real" bike trail; The green belt parkway.

     But we made it as far as International Park before we decided to call it a day.  Sure, it was only seven miles, but a bike ride is a bike ride.  And I'm still not a quitter:)

Have a great day!!

Christine:)

A bike ride at Secor Park?? This should be a walk, or should I say ride... in the park:)

     You must know by now that I'm not a huge fan of sharing the streets with semi-trucks and heavy automobile traffic; so when my riding buddy, Robert suggested we all meet at Secor Park for a ride, I was gearing up for a walk (or ride) in the park...

   But the thing is, Secor Park isn't very big at all and there was no way I would be able to get a decent work out in on this day.  But maybe if I did a few laps around the parking lot I could actually break a sweat if nothing else.

        My rides are lumped into several categories based on what I'm trying to achieve that day; from the endurance of a long ride, or a shorter ride with many hills and obstacles, or my favorite, the sight seeing ride.  Short, with no obstacles, but the chance for a lot of really cool pictures.  Today I had my camera ready!

                                            

As we headed into the park I found many ascetically pleasing views... 
                                           

I had my camera waiting, and I knew at any minute "Bambi" would be poking his head out to greet me...

       All I needed was a fishing pole and I could have sat here and stared at this little creek all day... of course I would also need someone to put the worm on my hook... Yuck!!

     But I then realized that this picnic in the park would soon be short lived, as we headed out to ride with the big boys...

   What the heck!! this isn't Secor Park!! Nobody told me I had to share the roads with these eighteen wheelers!

     I mean, If we were in Germany I would swear we were on the autobahn... well that may be a tad bit of an exaggeration... But before I had time to express my dislike of race track riding we were back on my "Mary Poppins" country roads.

                                             
  At this point I had no idea what we would pass on this bike ride...

But I wasn't expecting horses...

                                     
     And I knew it was only a matter of time before we would be back in the park.  I mean, after all, our cars were parked there, so we had to get back eventually.

     And you can't go to a park without checking out the nature preserve:)

                                                    

     So when all was said and done, I got my workout in after all.  And I'm thinking, being that this ride involved skill, endurance and the scenic route, lumped in one, I might just have to tell myself I took three rides! 

 And those tiny little voices in my head will say "dream on crazy girl!" :)

Have a great day!!

Christine:)

Bike trails are for bikes; but the parks are owned by wild life.

          I love a good "rail trail", aka trails created from former railroad tracks, but for some reason, as high as the deer population has become, I never see any on the bike trails.  And while most people view deer as being a nuisance, I get as giddy as a 6 year old every time I see one.

     Several of my riding buddies and I went on an early morning bike ride to the University Parks trail, and though this trail is only 14 miles there and back, it's one of the smoothest trails in the area.

       By this point in time in the biking season, the trees have certainly turned the trails into a forest.  It's hard to believe we're actually riding through towns; with houses and traffic all around us.

     But it soon becomes apparent that we're sharing the space with urbanization.

     However, as we took a brief side trip through Wildwood park, we saw this cute little bunny waiting to greet us (that or he was trying to figure out how to make his fast get away...).

        I'm torn between which I enjoy more; the straight shot of a bike trail, or the beauty inside a park.  This day we got to experience both.

          This is a far cry from a bike trail; and look closely...
                                              
        Yes!! Bambi is out for an early morning walk.

                                                    
     This may look like a deer in the headlights, but this deer owned this place, and we were only visitors.

     He had no problem posing for me to take his picture, before he gracefully wandered off.

     So the next time you get irritated by the over population of these beautiful creatures, just remember, we're in their home too:)

Have a great day!!

Christine:)

No swans at Swan Creek, but there were a ton of Pokemon!!

    Some days it's like pulling teeth just to find a riding buddy.  This particular Friday I had two possible chances for a bike ride, and both fell through.  Riding in one of the parks by myself was always an option, but not my first choice.

     However, my son, Matt, had just mentioned he had been roller blading  at Swan Creek Park recently, and it was heavily populated with those crazy Pokemon creatures.  I would have thought that fad would have died down by now, but I only saw this as an opportunity to snag a riding buddy, so I didn't ask questions.  We were soon on our way.

     Again, just like my last rollerblade/bike ride, this one also included a lot of starts and stops, after all, we were on a mission.  Truth be told, I love an excuse to stop and check out the scenery.  My buddies on bikes don't usually stop to sight see; we're there to "ride!"  

       Those little critters were going down, for sure!

     Remember as kids, our parents preached to us that they walked five miles to school, in five feet of snow, uphill both ways... Well this ride kind of felt like that.  There were a lot of steep hills and it sure felt like we were climbing more than coasting.  I know the laws of gravity would say I was wrong, but maybe we were defying the laws of gravity.

     I told you I absolutely hate gravel trails, but wooden trails!?!?!  No thanks!!  However, Matt knew there was a Pokemon stop at the end so he and his Rollerblades ventured on.  I stayed back and waited; I'm not crazy!!  We'll, not about this:)

     It's hard to tell by the photo whether this was up hill or down, but it had to be down hill; if I had stopped to take a photo going up hill I would have never had enough steam to make it up.  However, barreling down a hill and making a sharp turn at the bottom is a real challenge in itself.

     I know this park is named Swan Creek, but I'm really not sure why; I never see any swans in it.

     But then again, we were supposedly catching Pokemon, and I never once saw one of those either...

     So we're back at our car, and I soon learned that this ride wasn't over until we caught that last mischievous little Varmet. 

         We sat there and waited patiently for several minutes before Matt finally caught him, and I decided I may need to schedule an appointment with my eye doctor, because I didn't see it at all... Do you think we were also surrounded by swans and I just couldn't see them either?!?!  I guess we'll never know:)

Have a great day!!

Christine:)

I thought it was a family bike ride; turns out we were chasing Pokemon!

     Last weekend I actually went on three bike rides, though one trail was new to me, so I took many pictures and planned to share them with you.

     However, the third ride absolutely blew my mind, and I just had to tell you why.

     My collage age daughter, Lindsay, was in town for a few days and the night before, she and her brother, Matt, were out "catching Pokemon".  I know by now everyone has heard of this new fad, and I am at a huge loss as to why this crazy obsession is so big.  But at least they were getting out, and spending quality family time, so I didn't ask questions.

     The next morning Lindsay asked me if I wanted to go on a roller blade/ bike ride at the park with her and Matt.  How cool was this!?!  Not only are two of my "20 something" kids hanging out together, but they wanted to invite me along!

     So we piled in the car and started heading to Maumee Bay State Park.  I really enjoy riding my bike there and it was a bonus to be spending time riding with my kids.  It wasn't long before Lindsay said "Mom, slow down here!" I was wondering if I was being a lead foot, and she was looking out for our safety.  The two then began to stare into their phones while one says "there's one right by that hotel!".  Are you kidding me!?!?  I jokingly asked Lindsay if they only invited me along so I could drive while they catch Pokemon.  She replied "No, but it is a perk!!"

     So a short while later, after capturing several of these make believe creatures, we arrived at the park.  And I'll admit, it was a great day for a ride! 

     The park was packed with people flying kites for some kind of event, obviously having to do with kites:)

     As we ventured out, I began soaking up the amazing beauty right in front of us.  I asked Matt and Lindsay which way they wanted to go, and Matt pointed and said "this way...".  Okay, I didn't care where we rode, it was just nice to be spending time with my family.  But it wasn't long before we found ourselves parked at a picnic table.  Can you guess why...?

     Yep, it turns out this park was infested with those sneaky little varmints.  So I waited for them to finish whatever it is they were doing... and said "okay, why don't we start riding:)".  Matt says "lets go down this hill".  Of course, I love a good down hill ride!  We soon made or way to the bottom of this hill, were we found ourselves in front of an amphitheater.

     Matt informs Lindsay that this is a "Pokemon station".  (a what?!?!?)  So then the two of them plant themselves on a bench, noses buried in their phones...

     Isn't this nice!? My two kids sitting on a park bench "together"!

     They eventually got a little closer, but I was here for a bike ride, and I told them I was going to ride by the lake and they could catch up with me as soon as their creatures "hatched", "finished working out at the "gym" or whatever it is they do...

     Seriously!?!?!  Look what I found down by the lake!!  It was like something straight out of the twilight zone.  grown adult, "twenty somethings", everywhere, with their faces planted in their phones.  I know these young adults were living the whole Pokemon craze as kids, and maybe it's just a happy walk down memory lane.  But I still don't get it.

          Look at this gorgeous sky!!  Why were they looking at their phones!?  Ya know how you usually say "on your  left" as you pass others on a bike trail... Well, these people were so oblivious, that I found myself saying "heads up, pick a side, or hello... coming through!!"  Oddly enough, I did actually see one guy "talking" on his Phone.  I was tempted to say " What are you doing wasting your battery on a phone call!?!? Don't you know there are Pokemon everywhere, just waiting to be caught!?!"

     Matt and Lindsay finally met up with me, but those little caricatures were right there with us.  I asked Lindsay what the prize was for this "game", she replied "Bragging rights!!".  Well, now it all makes sense!!!  At the end of the day, at least we got to spend some time together.  

      It was kind of comical to see this picture Lindsay posted on Facebook, with the caption "At Maumee Bay State Park with Christine and Matt, rollerblading and biking!"  I guess if we all fit in one picture, then it must have been true:)  Of course, I'm not sure, but I might have been in a different time zone...

     I guess I still consider myself lucky to have spent some "quality" time with my kids, in the great out doors... even if Pokemon had to join us:)

Have a great day!!

Christine:)