What a great day for a ride! The temperature was 73 degrees when I left the house with Quia to go to the trailride. When I arrived at Alford, Laura C. was already there with Jewel and then Nancy S., a new member, came in with Rosie and brought a guest, Marilyn M., with Bruin. Next to arrive were Sharon and Herb H. with Beau and General, then Paulie P. came in with Image. The last to arrive was Kathleen D. with Jett. I went down to close the exit gates and on the way back I heard a loud “boom”, like someone shooting a gun. I thought this couldn’t be happening in this area and when I got back to the trailers, I learned that Nancy had a tire blow on her horse trailer just sitting in the trailhead! How’s that for a bizarre event? We decided to call for help after we were on the ride so we would be there when help arrived.
Knowing the temperature was going to rise, the route we took utilized the single track trails and the shaded multi-use ones. We ran into several bikers and folks walking with their dogs.
At one point, we talked with a couple who had two dogs and Kathleen discovered the guy was an attorney who spoke to her as she is a retired Judge. She then learned that Marilyn is also an attorney so they had a nice conversation, too. The county has been conducting fires for maintenance on the greenway so we stayed away from the first access to the trail along the railroad as they had a sign up asking trail users not to use it. We rode on the edge of the fields and said goodbye to Kathleen, who had to leave us, until we had another chance to access the single track along the railroad. There was a slight breeze and Nancy and Marilyn had not ridden the single tracks so it was a nice experience for them. We stopped along the way for Sharon to call U. S. Rider for Nancy’s flat tire and then continued on the single track. When we came to the split to access the new multi-use “single track” we took it and crossed over the only bridge on the greenway which is near the return to the trailhead. We then arrived safely back at the trailhead from the two-hour ride. As I left, Nancy had a short wait for tire help and company from Sharon and Herb. Also, the temperature was 83 degrees! A true blessing for a nice day to enjoy riding with friends!
Submitted by Sue N.