It was a beautiful evening at Island Lake for the opening ride of 2007. No falls to report.The trail was in great shape, however, it appears the rangers have a little too much time on their hands or they found some extra money in the trail budget. A few of the somewhat "ball breaking" hills have been re-routed and aren't as challenging as in the past. As my body aches have increased in recent years, I shouldn't complain too much. Another trail tweak is the abundance of mile markers. What is the need for having mile markers that quote quarter mile increments? That is a bit much. A great trail overall though in getting the blood moving and seeing some great views of the river with the trees still waiting to bloom. Saw what I believe to be the remnants of a controlled fire on the long loop. I saw something similar in that area a couple years back. I'm not an agricultural guru so anybody who knows about these things, educate me. No wildlife sightings besides the birds.
The post ride is always good people watching and there were no exceptions this Thursday. A couple next to us pretty much had a cheese and wine picnic in the back of the fella's car. I don't think the perspiration beneath the mountain bike shorts is anything to get close to romantically but if that is your thing, have at it.
We'll be at Brighton next week. Mike Giroux, if we have a "hold 'em" game after riding, will that get you out there? Sad.
Have a good weekend. Enjoy the sports smorgasbord tomorrow. Tigers at 1. Wings at 3, and the Pistons at 7. I'm hyperventilating just thinking about it.
Trail Head
