RecumBum

Monday was an incredible day, hitting a record high of 69 degrees, mostly sunny, with manageable winds most of the day. Naturally, I was on the bike.

In fact, I put in a half-century. Granted, it was a s-l-o-w half-century (13.1 MPH average speed), but that wasn’t the point. The mileage wasn’t even the point. The whole point of the day was just enjoyment of the perfect weather.

I looked up from my work around 11am, and noticed that the sun was shining and it was already 60 degrees. “Damn,” I thought, “I better get moving!”

And so I did. I grabbed a quick early lunch, changed (wearing shorts for the first time this year!) and hit the road.

The wind was from the WSW, and it was predicted to be from the SSW later in the day, so I decided on a westerly loop that would take me first north, then west, south, east, north, with a final short westerly leg. I figured on about 40-45 miles, with options to shorten of lengthen it.

I took my first little break at Gardner Lake, where the ice was rapidly breaking up in the wind and sun. There was still enough left for a gull to peck a hole in the ice and do a little fishing. As I watched, it reached into the hole and pulled out a squirming little fingerling, and proudly carried it off to a thicker section of ice (that’s the fish on the ice in front of the bird). How cool is that?

After stopping for a quick self-portrait near the dam, I headed west on 151st, then 143rd. At Edgerton Road I headed south for seven miles, and took another break at the convenience store. After ambling through town, I stopped at the Edgerton City Lake for a bit, and rode the half mile or so of paved trail that connected the lake to the sports complex to the south. Edgerton has a quite nice little collection of baseball fields, tennis courts, playgrounds, and horseshoe-pitching pits.

Sunflower Road heading south was, as always, a really fun ride. I stopped for some pictures on the west side of Hillsdale Lake. The one to the right is on the bridge on Spooncreek Road. The water on that shallow arm of the lake was still partially iced over, and for some reason, almost green in color (not that you can tell it from that photo). I continued south for a bit. I knew the pavement ended at some point, but didn’t know quite where. After another half mile of so I found out, so then turned around and doubled back.

I stopped again near the Antioch arm of the lake. The water here was completely ice-free, and the ground was covered in a soft surface of decaying leaves. The very top layer was slightly crunchy, and underneath it was spongy and almost mushy in places. In open areas I found raccoon and coyote tracks, and a small discarded snakeskin on a rock. I also scared up a rabbit at one point, and heard what I think was turkeys in the woods farther along the shoreline.

Before I returned to the pavement, I stopped, standing in the middle of an access road, and just stood there. I’m not sure how long I was there, but it was a magic time. No cars came by, and I just watched and listened. The only sounds were the slight rustle of the dried grasses in the wind, a songbird calling in the trees, and farther off, the scree of a hawk.

Eventually I looked at my watch and realized that the afternoon was getting away from me, and I was still 20 miles from home. As soon as I got the bike back on the asphalt, I heard the sound of cars in the distance. It was like time has stopped there for a bit, but now it was moving again, and so was I.

Now, headed east, I had the wind at my back, and I made good time to Spring Hill. I’d been betrayed a bit by the wind, which remained stubbornly from the west, so as I turned north I had a crosswind, and for my last little western jaunt, I had a stiff headwind. Two miles from home, I realized that I was going to end up with just over 49 miles. That close, I figured I might was well hit the half-century mark, so I took a detour through a new housing development, and ended up with just over 50 miles for the day.

It was a perfect day, but now winter has returned full-force. After I got home, the winds shifted to the northwest, and the temperature dropped quickly into the 30’s. The next few days are filled with forecasts of freezing rain, sleet, and snow.

So Monday’s spring-like weather was just a tease, but in a good way – a promise of things to come.