I was on the trail just after 7 and pulled into Mt. Horeb for breakfast at Schubert's a little before 8.
This was my first trek on the Military Trail this year and the first part of the ride reminded me why the community southwest of Madison is Mt. Horeb.
It's not real noticeable by car, but on a bike you get a sense for a climb which isn't very steep, it just continues mile after mile.
The day was beautiful. Low humidity and sunny skies. As it turned out, weather from several weeks ago had a bigger impact on the ride than a perfect July day.Maybe two or three weeks back, much of south central Wisconsin received significant rainfall with some spots experiencing real heavy rains.
Judging the response isn't real fair since I didn't see how bad the damage was or aware of the efforts to repair the trail where damaged most.
In several spots and especially around the big hill known as the Blue Mounds, the rains carved it's initials into the Military Ridge.
Look closely at the picture to the right and you may notice a deep gash left by a bike tire. It appears the rider made it through the sandy beach like surface without too much trouble. The trail surface in most places is made of crushed limestone which provides a pretty solid surface for bikes.
You can have trouble when the trail transitions from solid to sand. A couple of times the sand grabbed my front wheel and twisted it. I didn't hit the ground yesterday, but had to ride slower than usual. Some of the miniature sand dunes were in shady areas of the trail which were difficult to see before it was under the tire.
After several miles of this, the sand was in my head. I unclipped the bike shoes so I could get my feet on the ground as quick as possible and focused on the trail in front of me.It sapped some enthusiasm for my original ride plan. In Barneveld, just 24 miles into the ride is where I decided to turn around. In good weather, the trail between Barneveld and Dodgeville has a couple of sketchy spots on the trail and after the trail beaches I thought it better to use my energy for the return trip.
On the way back I talked with another rider. He said he's limited mainly to trail rides these days after a bad bike accident a year or two ago that left him with a broken back, jaw, and ripped off lip. Ouch!
I told him it was remarkable he had it in him to get back on the bike at all. After our chat, there was a prayer of thanksgiving for safety on two wheels.
For a ride that had some frustrating turns, I was happy with the results - 49 miles in just a little more than 3 hours.
Ride on, ride safe!
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