Saturday, September 19, 2009

The wildlife gates are about to close but I have a bike



The wildlife gates will close on October 1st and then access to many trails will be cut off. But,this year I'm not too bummed about it. This year I have a brand new Mountain bike and I am looking forward to taking it for long rides. I trust this new bike to stay in one piece and not fall apart ten miles from my car.

Still, I wish I knew more about bicycle repair and what tools to buy and bring with me. Also what do bikers think of the aerosol cans that you can repair and re-inflate a flat tire with?

This year I will park my car at the wildlife gates and then hop on my bike and ride to the trail heads. When I get to the trail head I will hide my bike well off trail and waypoint the spot with my GPS(r). Then I will hike up the trail. Well that is the plan anyway. I can follow that plan until the snows come then I can go back to snowshoeing.

I've asked many times how much energy do you have to extend to bike for a mile as opposed hiking for a mile. Is a mile hiking like two miles biking? I know that for me a mile snowshoeing is like three miles hiking. I never got an answer so I guess I will have to find out for myself.

I'm still ill. My Dr. wants me to force myself to go on some sort of hike anyway. I dunno. Right now just riding my bike around town for a mile makes me break out into a sweat. I know if I don't hike again soon I will start to lose my muscle tone. Right now my calf muscles are huge and and hard as iron. I'd like to keep them that way but I always get too ill too hike in the winter.

Some changes may come to this blog. I might be less likely to name the places I hike. This is because there was way too much litter on the trail this summer and I don't want to attract people to the forest. At the very least, I'm going to stop naming my secret lake and I've removed my geocache from that area.

1 comment:

Dave S said...

Bike tires can go flat. They are not hard to repair. Carry a patch kit for your inner tube or a spare inner tube, tire irons and a small air pump.