Ride Stats
Distance: 45.80 miles
Time: 03:10:00
Terrain: Road: Rolling
Bike: Fuji Sandblaster SX XC Mtn
Club: 2010 TerraTrike Car-Free Challenge
Weather Conditions: 7:30 – 10:40a: 65F – 73F, partly sunny, overcast at times. Chipmunk index of 23!
The Ride
Wooooooo! Forty-lovin’-five miles! That’s the longest trip I’ve ever done in my life, I think. I know that’s nothing to some people, but to me it’s a major accomplishment. The last 5 to 10 miles were a little uncomfortable. The back, the feet, the hands … they all wanted a rest, but we just kept trucking along. I’m really satisfied with the time it took – a little shocked, really. It was about 1.5 hours there and 1.7 back.
As usual, the flora and fauna were in full effect. The plants seemed especially lush, there were fluffy seeds and pieces of what looked like cotton (presumably from some kind of tree) blowing through the air, and they would come to rest and collect like cotton candy along the trail edge. Chipmunks were busy scurrying, gathering, carrying young, cleaning their faces, scavenging, and so on.
The prize animal sighting was a lone crane. He stood tall and still and slender on one of the rocks protruding from the Farmington River. I guess he was probably scanning the water for some food. I also helped a turtle cross the path. There was no one around, but he was hiding in his shell right in the middle of the path in the full sun. I figured he would get too hot, so I moved him in the direction he was headed to some shade.
What a great day. 10 days into the challenge, 20 to go!
[cetsEmbedGmap src=http://maps.google.com/maps?f=d&source=s_d&saddr=21+bank+street,+winsted,+ct&daddr=US-44+E%2FAlbany+Turnpike+to:Factory+St+to:Burlington+Ave+to:41.729433,-72.863302+to:271+Scott+Swamp+Road,+Farmington,+CT+06032+(Tunxis+Community+College)&hl=en&geocode=FQ7MfwId-CWl-ynHl_aY6grniTElhwqb7ICCNA%3BFRyafgIdhuam-w%3BFRLxfQIde0mn-w%3BFUjdfQId-DKn-w%3B%3BFaRkfAIdRfWn-yFRxz7LNZqRMSkjDR0va7DniTH0XI3cQj_Z1Q&mra=dme&mrcr=0&mrsp=4&sz=14&via=1,2,3,4&dirflg=b&sll=41.741282,-72.876692&sspn=0.050786,0.111494&ie=UTF8&ll=41.831712,-72.932053&spn=0.405716,0.891953&t=p&z=11&lci=bike width=350 height=425 marginwidth=0 marginheight=0 frameborder=0 scrolling=no]