Biking at Mont Orford

Here are two shots taken of me on a recent biking trip. :)

Mountain biking

This was the first time I had ever done "real" downhill mountain biking. On one run I took the water bladder out of my hydration back and used the case to stow my camera so I could get a few pictures. These don't really do it justice - it's really high, with very steep sections and the trails are really curvy.

Fortunately, the weather was very cooperative. It was a lot of fun!

Here's the mountain as viewed from the car on the way in. Look at the other cars in the picture for an idea of the scale.






Here are the bikes on the lift in front of us:






The view from the lift:






My bike (Zem) at the top:






Some shots of the trails (unfortunately, the photos look flat - you can't see the ups and downs in the trails):

The River

Here's a shot of the river that runs alongside my new bike trail. It's very peaceful there. :)

Bike trail

Stan (my bike) taking a break in Canada:




A lovely park where Hanu and I went biking:




A strange hill in Sherbrooke with some crows... it looked like it would have been more at home in the Southwestern US more than in the Eastern Townships!

Bluebird

The Bluebird is the state bird of NY, although this is the first one I've ever seen!

Indoor Biking, anyone?

It's officially 'winter' here in NY. We had 5 inches of snow last week! Unfortunately, between the mess from the snow and the fact that it is dark outside before I get out of work, I would normally be done mountain biking for the season. BUT... I've just discovered a wonderful new toy!




I've made my bike into a transformer! The "trainer" I got attaches to the back wheel and basically converts my regular outdoor mountain bike into an indoor stationary bike.

It's working out pretty well so far. The fact that I can actually *exercise* while sitting in front of the tv at night makes it much easier to get my winter workouts in. Cheers to indoor biking! ;)

Here's a shot of the cords that attach the little computer to my bike so I can measure time and distance. I just thought this was a neat perspective!

beaver

Another adventure from biking... something caught my eye in the canal alongside the bike trail. At first I thought it was a woodchuck, because there are tons of them in this area.

Upon closer inspection, I realized that it was actually a beaver! I had never seen one before, so I was more than a little surprised.

Here's a head on shot of the little guy:



Again, from the side:



Here he is, finishing off the stick he was eating... he polished it off in about 10 minutes! I love his little hands in this photo.



And here he is swimming away. You can see part of his tail on the left.



It was really surprising. I have been pleasantly surprised with the variety of wildlife we have seen along the trail. It's always an adventure! For another photo, check out Neuro's blog.

dry docked

Every day when I ride the bike trail I pass this lonely, abandoned boat sitting in an overgrown lot. I think that it is just beautiful!

nature trail

Some photos from a recent bike trip.

bike ride

Some photos from tonight's bike ride.


a bridge on the bike path


ferns along the trail


the hill I ride up alongside the locks in the canal. The photo doesn't make it look nearly as steep as it really is!

biking

Neuro and I got new mountain bikes this summer and I am already addicted. I've been riding 4 or 5 times a week at a minimum. I am fortunate to have access to some great trails only about a block from my house.



my bike


the bike path runs alongside this canal

We have encountered all sorts of critters in our travels... here are a few that held still long enough to let me snap some photos:


snapping turtle


caterpillar - a luna moth to be, perhaps?


butterfly - Eastern Tiger Swallowtail