At play in the fall colors

Seven Divas unafraid of a little rain and mud departed from the Campbell Airstrip Trailhead. I got a little dizzy with all the loops we rode, totaling 9.66 miles. Somehow we managed to ride Old Rondy and make a loop of it with the new MLK Jr swath and still end up at the beaver pond. Here we enjoyed the colors of fall, the various props, and the swampy patriotism of other park users.

We instituted a new tradition of cookies half way through the ride (thanks, Gloria!). Then somehow we did P-38 Lightening both ways, and Birch Knob, Moose Track, Lynx, and Coyote, before arriving at the parking lot for more cookies and ginger tea by Kass. Somewhere along the way we forgot about the rain, rode Salmon Run both ways, and had a great time.

American Gothic, Divas style

Rose takes time to stop and smell the dogwood

Gloria, Terrie, and Kass pose in the outdoor portrait studio

Our photographer, Corinne.

Rainy at Kincaid

Twelve of us started from the Raspberry Trailhead in a light sprinkle. Lori and Michelle co-led us on a wonderful tour, including Roller Coaster, Mize Loop, and Margaux's Loop. The rain never stopped, though it did get stronger at times. The trails looked slick but no one wiped out, not even on Little Niagara.

I was lucky to be wearing my fabulous harlot shorts. They shed water and were completely dry at the end of the ride! Lori made an erroneous comparison of these very stylish shorts to a postal uniform. Here I present a side-by-side comparison for your review (stylish harlots on left; utilitarian uniform on right):



Neither rain, nor hail, nor sleet, or snow, can keep a Diva off the trails!

Trails planning in Bicentennial Park

Hey Divas -

If you want to know what's going on in the parks, come to this public meeting:

It's the Far North Bicentennial Park trail users meeting on Monday, September 8, 2008. The meeting was moved to the 2nd Monday due to the Labor Day Holiday (normally on the first Monday of each month). It will be conducted at our traditional time of 6:20pm at the BLM Science Center at the BLM Campbell Tract, 68th and Abbott Loop Road.

Here's the flier (click to make it bigger):

Hope to see you there - please let others know about this.

posted by Rose

mmm mud!

Guess I should have looked at my own post from earlier in the week about not forgetting my fenders. It would have helped at last night's ride.

Didn't really need it early in the ride as we zipped around on some singletracks and some wider trails. Then... we rode down Black Bear Trail. After the first big wheel-sucking puddle most of us stopped worrying about how muddy and splashed we were getting. Normally, I'd avoid the muddy trails, but it's not like any of us were going to turn around and climb back up that hill.

So, mud it was until after Moose Meadow when we joined the Tour trail and finished our ride.

Thanks everyone for showing up. Thanks for the cookies and muffins & thanks for following our twisty, turny ride through Bicentennial Park. Group photo to follow...

Also, for the record book - Sweep of the Year title goes to Bonnie for finding the seat bag left on the trail after Gloria crashed her bike in the slippery mud. Good eyes, Bonnie!

All trail signs were obeyed, despite the day's news of the suspect sow being shot at Stuckagain.

posted timely by rose; photo additions by corinne

rainbow

Ten riders tackled the hilly trails in Kincaid Park on Wednesday. We had beautiful conditions as we rode the maze of trails. We split into two groups - one group met a few moose, the other group found just one trail section blocked by construction.

After sharing tea, cookies and some fresh cherries in the parking lot, the sprinkles began. On my drive home, the rainbow revealed itself over the mountains.This Wednesday's ride is on the east side of town where we've had lots of rain. Hopefully not too much, but put on your fenders just in case.

posted by rose

Rover's Run closure

In case you haven't heard, the mayor officially closed the Rover's Run trail (also named Mellen's Way) yesterday. Barriers have been put in place to try to keep people out while bears remain in the area. This doesn't mean bears are only on this one trail so it's a good idea to use caution and travel together in groups when you're in Bicentennial Park.

I like that Lt. Paul Honeman of the APD is quoted as recommending: "carry bear spray and to wear 'dinner bells' to avoid surprising a bear." Kind of reminds me of the photo Diana posted on her site. You have to read the last paragraph to appreciate it.

posted by rose

Bear-free on Spencer Loop

Now there are two kinds of bear sign ~ piles of half-digested berries and dayglow warnings from Rick Sinnott!

Despite these various signs, Karen was determined to ride Spencer Loop .. essentially doing a tour of every place the mama bear with cubs has tried to attack some hapless runner or biker. Diana and I took pictures along the way to help the authorities trace our route in case anything should happen to all 9 divas on the ride.

A report of the bears down by the creek did cause a detour early on. We watched the creek banks as we started the loop but were soon too busy huffing and puffing up Wall Street to be concerned about bears. We did the main loops first and then hit Double Bubble to add some distance.

Bonnie asked, "Is that all of Spencer Loop? I've never done all of it."

"Well, no, there is the big hill at the very beginning that we skipped so we could go down to the creek"

"Let's do it."

So one more hill, then back to the parking lot for 2 kinds of iced tea and one kind of iced cookie. Thanks Bonnie, Katherine, and Rae.

Katherine, Rae, Anne, and Bonnie after their first full tour of Spencer Loop.

Diana in the bear-free zone on top of Wall Street.

Karen shows off her Diva freckles and polka dots.