redleaf | Entries tagged with biking

I'm not really good at sticking to my plans for posts. The obvious conclusion there is that I will stop promising you specific posts - will only specify when updates happen - sorry!

This morning I woke up and decided I wanted to bike to Wellesley (frankly because it was beautiful weather and I wanted something familiar if in an unfamiliar way). So I filled up my water bottle, glanced at the bike friendly roads in google maps and ate an apple before heading out the door. Unfortunately I didn't take into account two things:

1. The roads outside town are much more exposed then the roads in town (farmland duh). Though it was only in the 50s when I left, the sun was brutal in intensity.

2. I continually underestimate distances on straight roads - both while mapping out and while riding them.

Anyway, back to the actual narrative. So on the way I decided to take some short cuts - roads that weren't recommended, but I thought they were so because they were more minor. I was wrong. This road is beautiful right?

road

Well after the next rise it turns into dirt suddenly and descends at a crazy steep angle - not something my tires were made for, but I made it through.

This is a subdivision just outside of Wellesley that I got lost in - literally tried all the roads and they were all cul-de-sacs - turns out the road I wanted was the one BEFORE the road that leads to the development.

Anyway, I of course had to stop and take a picture of the Wellesley sign, though I couldn't get myself in it too, so I took two:

Luckily I took this picture early - i'm pretty sure I looked a mess by the time I got back. But anyway, on topic. I got to Wellesley to find that they were holding their annual apple butter and cheese festival!! So the small town was packed and lively:

crowd

Yes, the lady in the foreground has birds on her. I had no cash (bike ride for the sake of bike ride remember?) and only one bottle of water. So I walked around enjoying the atmosphere, looking at the wares, and enjoying the music and the boat racing(?):

music

Yes, this is happening on someone's porch - this was totally integrated into the neighborhood, it was awesome.

boats

But then, I finished my water, it was already noon (!) and I wasn't even sure I had the energy to get back.

road

But I did make it back (after another shortcut gone wrong) - super thirsty, hungry, tired and lightly sunburnt - to find that I had actually biked >50km (that's ~30 miles) . . . which explains all of the above. Lesson learned for next time - will actually check the length of the route (not just eyeball it) before I leave!!

So last week I tried to post about my most recent biking adventure - but then Blue tooth wasn't sending all the photos to my computer to upload, and then dreamwidth lost the draft of the post. So I let it go a week, but now i'm trying again.

The trip actually started as a plan to bike to victoria park in Kitchener - which on the map looks much like the park next to my apartment in form and function. I was just going to head south on roads parallel to the main drag following the bike lanes until I spied this to the right of the road:

Iron Horse

This of course reminded me of a certain venue in Noho - so I had to follow it. I briefly looked at the map seeing it glanced Victoria Park and went on my way . . . . not realizing this would be the last map I would see.

The bike trail itself is quite wooded and closely follows a concrete lined stream for part of the way (which of course reminded me of LA - this trip was pretty much a flood of memories):

stream

The trail is also lined with all sorts of relics from the railroad and industrial past of the area (even as it went through the new industrial area at the end) which made it feel like you are in some children's fantasy novel, or maybe a weird steampunk disney world. I unfortunately only took one picture of these things:
implement of eras past

I also saw some cool houses - maybe one day I will capture more of the most interesting buildings around here (though some should be in a post soon). Here's one:

house

I was so wrapped up in memories and sight seeing I utterly missed the turn off and made it all the way to the end of the trail! I turned back and was able to find it (not easy though - lots of branching of the trail and no labels/signs much like upper Rock Creek). It turned out to be much more intensively landscaped then the park by my place - prettier, but flatter.

This pond had an island in the middle! It also was COVERED in ducks and geese and everything that goes with:
pond