Walden Ridge Ride

Thursday, Dec. 14, 2017.  A little chilly but after a breakfast at McDonald's Paul and I were off for a ride.  Today would take us over Walden Ridge, a pretty good stretch of gravel going up and all the way down.

Did some back roads getting to our turn off for Walden Ridge but somehow I have lost the pictures.  Now ain't that a hoot.  I can say the road started out asphalt and narrow then on an uphill stretch it quickly turned into very dry loose gravel.  And some of the turns would make a hairpin turn sick, all the while remembering that it was gravel.  Beautiful view from up high when you could find an opening in the trees.  And no guardrails either.

Going down was worse to me.  Making the hairpin turns on loose gravel was not my treat.  On one of these my back wheel started sliding so I let off the rear brake a bit but the front tire was sliding on the loose gravel.  I could not see me and the bike going over the side of the mountain so I laid it down, almost like slow motion.

Paul was a ways ahead of me but later came back.  I was trying to pick the bike up and was having no success.  I laid it down on the right side and was having to pick it up pushing up hill.  The rear wheel kept sliding in the loose gravel.  When Paul arrived he and I picked it up with some effort.  We slowly walked it around to the middle of the road so that I could get on it on a more level spot.

With dusty clothes and bike and a bruised ego we rode it to the bottom.  I then told Paul that I needed a cup of coffee.  A little later we pulled into a Hardie's, grabbed a cup and then headed back to the house.

It was a beautiful day for a ride and overall, a good ride including my mishap.  The total mileage was 109 miles.  Not far but far enough.