This weekend was a big change for me (not for you experienced types) because I had the new bike computer and actually broke into plural miles after four months of creeping toward breaking one mile. Friday was my first 2 mile + day, nearly all of it on the street (yay for rear-view mirror!) Saturday was another, even a bit longer on the + fraction. Quite warm, windy, both days. Today only a short ride on the land but managed to ride more of the trail I've been working on (and walk the bike less) than before.

The open part of that trail is no problem now--down across the meadow, over the ditch, up the rise to the dry woods. But the dry woods trail itself is narrow and twisty between thick brush, some of it thorny (cactus), and all of it on a slope with varying ground conditions, from grass on dirt to solid rock. At the highest point, there's a rain barn that provides water for a wildlife guzzler. From there, the trail winds on to the property line, turns abruptly, and comes out in to another big grassy area. It's not long, but for me, still getting pedaling, braking, and steering coordinated, it's technically tricky and in places downright scary. Anyway, today I made the downward ride from the rain barn all the way back to the house--which involved the (for me) scariest downslope on a curve to a slab of limestone, up over a little berm, and down to face an immediate turn between some cacti..then more twisty stuff, in denser brush as tall as I am or taller before emerging on the familiar homeward trail.

My goal this week is to ride 2 miles on the street plus some on the land every day. Right now my legs are complaining fairly loudly, but they'll get used to it.