So this morning, after a cup of coffee, Wifey suggests a bike ride at Big Ridge State Park. Of course I think this is a grand idea. It's still early, cool, and I've always loved cycling. This of course isn't the first bike ride we've been on. We've done the Virginia Creeper Trail earlier this year, mountain biked at Panther Creek State Park, even rode Cades Cove loop in the Great Smoky Mountains National Park, and rode a nice mountain bike trail in Big South Fork NRRA.
Since I agreed enthusiastically, we left our back deck and went to don our cycling apparel and prepare for the ride. It had been quite some time since we last had the mountain bikes out, and you know what that means. That's right, you guessed it, they had to be wiped down and cleared from spider webs and the tires needed a good airing. Once that was complete I loaded the bikes into the back of the jeep. We recently purchased a new car and hadn't tried our bike rack on it yet for fear we might tear of the rear window wiper.
With the bikes loaded, water bottles at the ready and helmets in hand, we were off to Big Ridge. Upon arriving, the sun was shining bright, the weather was just a touch warmer. Looks like wifey's bet of freezing while on the ride was lost. We started down by the gristmill, up the hill towards the front of the park, around the campground, past the swimming area and tea room, out to the front entrance, back towards the gristmill to the back entrance, turned around and went back to the gristmill and for good measure back to the back entrance and to the gristmill once more.
Total approximate distance was 3.5 miles. Don't know how long it took us but I could tell it had been awhile since we had been in the saddle. For those who are interested, here is a link to the course we took, mapped out on gmap-pedometer.com. The course isn't exact as the campground and the tea room roads aren't properly mapped on Google maps. http://www.gmap-pedometer.com/?r=4020623.
Anyway, it was truly a wonderful way to start our Labor Day. Until next time, stay out of doors as much as possible. There's a whole world outside waiting for you.
Well wishes,
Tim and Robin.
