Life on Two Wheels and Two Feet

 5.4 - Sunday July 11, 2021, 70 miles; Total so far: 238 miles Chuck and I had gone out for a bit on the previous evening, so we felt the change in the air that was occurring.  A breeze out of the Northwest was bringing cooler air and some clouds to the area.  By morning, it was cooler, overcast, and it looked like it might rain.  Since we had a longer day ahead, another early start was in order.  The hotel was on US-77, the road we needed to use for a couple of miles to get onto K-4 (Kansas Route 4) where we would spend most of the day. Since it was Sunday morning, the traffic was light.  Our early start was peaceful and allowed us to get a good jump on the distance for the day.  By the time we reached the small town of Hope, about 8 miles after turning onto K-4, a slight drizzle had developed.  The guys stopped under some cover but the rain wasn't bothering me, so I continued on in my zone, putting several miles of wet blacktop under my wheels. ...

 5.3 - Saturday July 10, 2021, 49 miles - Total so far: 168 miles "Everybody talks about the Santa Fe Trail.  They know it was an important part of history.  But only 1% can find it on a map or knows about it in person."  --  Dennis Latta (writer for various New Mexico newspapers). My best or REM sleep comes in the early hours right before I wake up in the morning.  So, after a rather unsettled night of weather, in the form of a good old fashioned Kansas thunderstorm, I had finally settled into a good snooze when a truly irritating sound jolted me awake.  At first, I thought it was a person mimicking a really bad version of a bird call.  The sound was repeated over and over until going back to sleep was no longer an option.  The "voice" even became hoarse at one point, so I was convinced it was a park neighbor intent on driving us campers out.  However, the sound turned out to be the call of the Eurasian Collared Dove. It would follow me...

 Back in October of 2023, a group of folks who either still are or have been associated with the Montour Trail Council got together for a ride on the trail. Since it was a lot of fun and good to catch up with each others' lives, we decided to make it a monthly event. We've been faithfully gathering and riding since that time. Participants vary, from month-to-month and some have invited their friends and riding acquaintances  to join us. Because of that, we now use quotation marks around Montour, when referring to our group. What follows are some photos from these monthly rides, beginning with the ride on July 11, 2024. Prior to that ride, I had been sending photos attached to an email that went out to anyone who had ridden with us in the past. For various reasons, I stopped doing that but am now making up for the past few months and may continue posting monthly photos in this blog. On July 11, 2024 we rode from Cecil Park to the end of the Westland Branch of the trail and then...