Mountain Bike Monday - Critters Everywhere!

We hit the trails yesterday with MBM, but before that we had a picnic lunch at the park with his girls, our little adopted nieces as we call them!



It's nice to have our Trio back. Life gets so busy that it can be hard to coordinate schedules.



I broke out the Spot Single Speed again for the ride and was excited to give it another spin on the trails. And, he didn't disappoint!



It was a great ride that really worked every muscle in my body! I rode just as fast and maybe faster than on the Mutt!



What an adventurous ride! MBM had said that he was sort on snake sightings this year! Well, not any longer! We were riding along and I happened to look down and saw this big black snake just crawling next to me on the trail. I hollered "Snake on the left!!!" Eek!!!!



And, then we saw a baby possum running down the trail dazed and confused! He was no bigger than my hand!



He looked so friendly and cute until we got up close to snap the pic. Then, he showed his teeth! That's definitely a first for us...seeing a possum!



Then, we decided to venture onto the red trail since it had been a long while. MBM had never experienced the red, so it was a good time to explore! Right away we saw this guy curled up sunning...



He had crazy blue and white hazy eyes! Creepy!!! I was about to turn around. 2 snakes and a possum was enough. They told me we could switch trail leaders and to hang in there! So, I did. Luckily the only other thing we saw was a mole running on the red trail!

Mountain Bike Monday - Evidence

Last Thursday after the great rain shower we got, it was cool enough to take Charlie with us to the Battlefield for our ride! The weather was so nice and Charlie enjoyed getting out with us!

I met up with Missy on Sunday for a spin around Poco!



It was a humid morning, but otherwise lovely!



We did some fireroads as well as the green trail!



At the end of the ride, Missy asked to check out the snakes at the bridge! So, we headed that way!



We looked very closely at the rocks, but saw no snakes. There was a lot of debris blocking the pipe and the water flow. Maybe they had to change locations!

We spotted evidence though! A snake skin on a rock. Can you see it?



Ick!!! I knew they weren't far with this evidence!

We decided to head back up a grueling hill! While climbing, Dynamo passed us and we were talking and not paying attention. Missy informed me that we both ran over a snake in the middle of the path! Yikes!! I didn't even see him! We dropped our bikes and tried to go back to find him, but he must have gotten out of dodge!

Luckily we haven't seen many creatures this year, but Dynamo did run over one on Saturday during his ride. He said it snuck up on him! Yikes!! And, then he had to coax a black snake off the trail Sunday too! They must be out and about. I don't really want to see them!

Our ride was nice. Again, we enjoyed chatting! I hope you all had a great weekend!

Mountain Bike Monday - Ridin' the skinnies!

Last Thursday we met up with MBM and his friend, Jay! We took off for the Lakeview Trails at Poco. The only way we agreed to allow Jay to ride with us is if he rode the "skinny" on Lakeview Too, and he must allow me to photograph the event and blog about it! By now anyone who goes anywhere with us knows that everything is fair game as blog material!

For those of you that don't know, a "skinny" is a skinny log! So, when we got to the skinny, we paused long enough for me to get the camera ready to capture the trick. Here goes...



Talk about balance...







Rock on, Jay!

And, when we started I warned Jay that anytime anyone is in my presence it is highly likely that we will encounter a snake of some sort. I thought when we started Lakeview 3 that maybe Jay was the anti-venom of sorts, until all of a sudden he stops and hollars back, "Snake." So, we all stopped for the photo opp.



Dynamo said he thought they just kept getting bigger and bigger! I have to agree that they are awfully big! I'm just glad Jay was leading and not me!



It sounds kinda weird, but I'm glad they are at least black so they're easily visible...that is, when you do "see" them.

And, as we were completing our ride, we stopped to take more photos of the "Jay Show"!





We completed Lakeview 1, Too, and 3! It was a great ride with friends. It's nice to have a big group go together every once in a while. We enjoyed chatting and learning! We're glad we found another rider to add to our group! If anyone wants to ride, we're always up for it!

Oh, and Dynamo and I had a ride on Sunday. We did the Blue and Green Trails and some of Forest Exploration. We encountered one critter...



I didn't even notice him, but Dynamo did! I rode right past him, but when Dynamo yelled about seeing a turtle, I stopped and took his picture. I went ahead and moved him off the trail. He was steady hissing at me!

It was a good ride, but kinda hot! I didn't go as far as I wanted, but still enjoyed the ride with my hun! Hope your weekend was good!

Ridin' With Critters and Dynamo

So, the other day Dynamo and I went to the park for our after work spin on Lakeview. On the way to the parking area we saw a pretty deer just taking a stroll and eating leaves!



And...we weren't the only ones on the trail as usual. The first trailgoer was this great box turtle. He was so fast. We even thought he might actually try to climb the log!



Dynamo said that those turtles are everywhere and couldn't believe we stopped for yet another one. This is after we saw 2 of them on Sunday on our gravel road (which we had to photograph as well might I add). I just think they're so cool!

I was so excited about my first finding of the day after less than 2 miles of riding!

That is until we rounded a corner and what did we see? Yes, you got it...a GIANT black snake sprawled across the trail.



He was in no hurry to move, but did start slithering slowly away from us once he noticed we had stopped and were watching him. I was trying deperately to get my camera out and ready. I got the following closeup which might help you see how icky he was!



I guess I'm not totally cured of my snake phobia! I was a little uneasy after encountering that guy, but willing to continue onto Lakeview 2. We were rolling along smoothly chatting and laughing when on my way uphill I glanced to my left when something black caught my eye. You guessed it! The second black snake just to the left of the trail. He actually had his head raised as if he was watching to see where the commotion was coming from. All I could think to say was "Jeff! Snake! Keep GOING!!" Then, Dynamo said, "You wanna go back and take a picture?" To that I said, "No way!" I was so surprised to see that critter on the side with his head up that I didn't want to go back and inspect further! I really don't know why his head was up and wasn't interested in testing the situation!

So, since I was a little shaken up I figured I better take my "Rachel Mojo" (our friend Elise refers to my snake and critter finding ability as this) and jump off the singletrack and onto the fireroads for a while. Dynamo is right in that we encounter most of our critter friends on the trails in the evening hours after work. I know that they're all out hunting and we're just interrupting, but I think somedays there are more than usual. Also, this time of year they seem to be moving much slower than normal. The heat really is too much for them at times I think.

We finished our ride with about 14 miles. I was feeling really good. It's a shame I let the critters get the best of me! There's always tomorrow!

Thankful for Wildlife?

I was telling Dynamo that I should do a Thankful Thursday post about being thankful for my snake friends. I've always been a little torn about how I feel. At times I thought the snakes were haunting me. I even researched animal totems and possible reasons that I could be seeing all of these snakes. But, in the end I think the bottom line is that when you bike as much as Dynamo and I do we're gonna see critters. We're gonna see more than most people because we bike anywhere from 25 to 45 miles each week. And, when you start early or late in the day, that's when they're most active, especially in the summertime.

So, I've decided to be at peace with nature, especially the slithering creatures. We have come to an understanding with one another. It doesn't mean that they don't scare the poop out of me when I am surprised by them, but it does mean that I understand that they have a place. I am in their habitat disturbing their life and daily rituals, so why should I get upset that they're there?!?

I LOVE when we see lots of activity in the park. I enjoy seeing the squirrels gathering food and playing, the deer, especially the babies with spots, and the turtles.

Dynamo took a ride the other night while I was helping mom out with Bible School dinner. Here's what he saw...





And, when MBM, Dynamo, and I rode on Tuesday evening we saw this turtle in the middle of the fireroad.



He was struggling so hard. When we finally got a close inspection we realized that he only had 3 legs. WOW!! It's amazing how they survive. Dynamo helped him up over the hill since he was like a tire stuck in the mud...just spinning!



And...we couldn't leave the park without checking on our "favorite" snake family. Since it was getting dark, we knew they would be out hunting. Sure enough...



The picture shows 2, but there were 4 total. I guess naming them Jack and Dianne won't work now. So, I'm looking for naming suggestions. Got any?

Dynamo and MBM were very interested as you can see here!



It felt like a National Geographic episode. Talk about being close to nature! Happy Thursday!

Mountain Bike Monday - Bridges over Poco

On Saturday we caught up with our friends, Rachel and Clay, and went for a nice ride at Poco. We met them early and rode about 10 miles together. We rode from the top lot at the Park down to the Blue Trail and back. It was a great ride with two lovely people! We only had 1 issue and that was me getting a flat. I ran over a stick and it snapped the metal valve stem right in half. Crazy! So, Dynamo and Clay got me all fixed up and we continued onward. Unfortunately, we were so busy talking and visiting that we didn't get any pictures with them. I'm so sorry! I'll do better next time!

After we left our friends we ventured over to the Lakeview Trails and did another 13 miles or so. I'm not really sure because in all the commotion of the morning I got distracted and forgot to set my cyclometer at first, and then during the tire change it got reset somehow. So, we're estimating the mileage on the lower side.

On our ride together we encountered one black snake. He was on the side of the trail and we didn't even see him...that is until we were right next to him. He got scared and started slithering. He was "running" in fear. I screamed and kept on pedaling. Dynamo said the snake started to come towards him in a state of confusion (probably because my scream scared him silly). So, Dynamo said all he could think to do was take his feet out of his clips and lift his feet up. I didn't see this, but he said his feet were about on top of his handlebars. This was good thinking on Dynamo's part! We had no way of knowing which way Mr. Snake was going to "run." We got settled down and started laughing! If only we had the video camera on my seat post. It would have caught the whole ordeal!

Yesterday we had a nice spin at the Park. I met Dynamo after work and we did a warmup lap on this new section of trail we noticed the other day. Talk about beautiful!! It was a beautiful new bridge!



It was so exciting to discover this new "connection." It is a new route for the campers to get to the pool area. More new terrain for us to ride!



Of course we had to stop to take pictures!





We ventured over to the green and blue trails after our warmup loop and had a great ride! The temperature was excellent. The bugs weren't biting! The trails were just perfect for our tires according to Dynamo!

We completed about 11 miles! It was a "Good ride, hun!" kind of ride!



But, I didn't mention what we saw...

Yes...two snakes!

When we went over the bridge at the Beaver Creek Dam at the beginning of the warmup, Dynamo noticed two snakes in the water.



The arrows are to show you their location.

The crazy part is that they weren't moving very much. It seemed as though the one on the left in the picture was stuck under the rock. So, we decided to leave them alone in case they were just "hunting." So, at the end of our ride I told Dynamo I just had to go back and check to see if they were really stuck or what. Well, they were still there. We knew then that something was wrong. I know...it doesn't seem possible that a snake would be stuck, but trust me...he was! The other one was just sitting there watching his friend/girlfriend struggle to breathe!

In this photo you'll see the head of the one on the left come up for air.



And, you know I don't like snakes one bit, but we just couldn't not get help for them just in case they were really in trouble. Who knows what could've happened. So, I talked to the people at the ranger station, and they said they would go down with a shovel to free them up. I sure hope they were ok!

So, we'll end with a happy picture!



Hope your Monday was fantastic!