Tuesday, August 2, 2011

It was an epic ride...

Yesterday was my longest day in the saddle since my trip counselor days at Catherine Capers! We were out for 4 hours, accompanied by John on his mountain bike for part of the ride. Harley behaved beautifully with only a few sudden stops (turkeys in the puckerbrush, a couple of low-flying broad winged hawks,  and a loose dog circling him). My brave steed even crossed the bridge with me aboard! I rode him most of the way on a loose rein, and even found the gumption to ride a little without stirrups. As you can see from some of the pictures, I could stand to spend A LOT of time without stirrups! 

I admit to being a bit cranky before the ride (bugs and heat). But my choices were trail riding, or a lesson with John--I chose the easy option. Even though it was hot and sticky, we had a great time.Well, at least I did, until the end. John and I missed our connection to switch riders (he was at one location, I at another). Twice, I turned back when I heard a vehicle coming down the road, but it wasn't John. So I rode the entire way home while John was madly cycling back up the trail, thinking Harley might have dashed off leaving me in the woods. And since we only had one phone between us (on me), there was no way of contacting each other.

John's got dibs with Harley for Wednesday and Thursday! We went shopping for a new phone for John after our ride, and as a contingency plan, John suggested we carry chalk to write messages on the road crossings if necessary. Brilliant! Especially since cell phone reception can be spotty where we ride.

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