Another March day, another day of watching the temperature gauge at 39 stubbornly climbing to 41 after two hours. A high of 49 was in the forecast, but the bones in the body didn't believe it. I decided to venture out. If I was going to ride another day in the cold and grey, I wanted it to be somewhere else than back and forth in my own neighborhood, as much as I love it.
I drove 11 miles to the next county and parked where Hwy 45 and Hwy 295 met. I rode 295 last summer and loved the remoteness.
I figured I would have plenty of new photo ops. And, I also knew I would be in for some good climbs.
It was still only 41 when I got on the bike but there was no wind and the air felt good. I didn't have to ride long before I came upon my first shot.
After this shed, the road climbed a bit and then descended down the first long, steep hill.
I had to almost screech on my brakes as I spotted the large weathered barn on my left at the bottom of the hill.
It wasn't until I was home and downloading the pictures that I was able to see the remnants of the red paint.
Just after the barn, the road began to climb again for a mile with some steep stretches thrown in. Reaching the top, it was as beautiful as I remembered from last time. Rolling green hills stretching way off into the distance. Very quickly, the road descended again and just as quickly rolled back up. At the bottom of the last hill, sat an old pick-up truck, its bed filled to the brim with aluminum cans. I was tempted to stop and take a picture but I hesitate to pause at an abode with a yard full of discarded debris and a house in poor repair.
Since time was short and I knew this would only be an hour ride, I planned to turn around at top of the next hill since it dropped for at least a mile on the other side. When I reached the top, about 200 yards off to my left, I saw a dog spy me and start galloping across the pasture. I turned to go back but there seemed to be something special about this dog and non-threatening. I stopped and waited for him to catch up. He was actually shy at first and I had to call him over. He was very friendly and adorable and, as you can see, this picture caught him with a great look on his face.
I began to look more seriously for my one piece of litter to pick up. The Coke can with a heart caught my eye as there seemed to be a bit of irony in 1) a Coke can having a heart on it in the first place and 2) a Coke can with a heart as litter. I was hit with more irony as I went to pick it up and brown liquid came out from the cigarette and chewing tobacco juice(?) inside the can. Sorry, this can stayed on the ground and I picked up two beer cans just down the road.
Driving out the extra miles was just what I needed for my ride today. Though still on the tired side this morning from dealing with a stomach ailment, I didn't feel weary at all on my ride and wished it could have been longer.
The picture of the tree trunk is rather interesting since it's hard to judge from the picture its true height. I would say it's about 20 feet high, though it looks as if I might be holding up a large stick and getting a close-up.
Coming back down the hill, I had to get one more shot of the barn from a different angle.
When I reached the van, I still had five minutes of riding time, so I crossed Hwy 45 and rode on for a couple of minutes.
Who knew what I would find in just 2 minutes. Sure enough, I came across this small house that actually had a small chimney (not visible in picture). On closer inspection, one can see that this very modest home once had electricity as the remnant of an electrical cord is visible between the two windows. There were a couple of other similar smaller structures very close to this one. And, off to the right, was the foundation of a larger building.
Getting on my bike to leave, a crown jewel of litter: Crown Royal with its bag lying right next to it.
A short but very revitalizing bike ride today.
Today's Ride: 61mins. 9.14 miles. 41 degrees. Miles YTD: 1,604.01
Do you know why farmers prefer to paint their barns red? A curious person went to the farmers and asked, "Why do you paint your barns red?" They said that red paint was cheapest although they didn't know why. The guy goes to the paint store and asked why red paint was cheapest. The salesman said, "Because the farmers buy so much of it!" Loved the smiling or smirking dog!
ReplyDeleteThat's a good one, Colene. I like that.
ReplyDelete