I Hit the Road Again

Photos:
Upper Left: End of the line for improvements. More to come.
Upper Right: Shadblow.
Lower Left: Empty nest over the canal.
Lower Right: Improved path from top of parking lot down to bridge over locks mechanicals.

Cleared for riding
My dermatologist OK’d bike riding as long as I put on a heavy-duty sun block. Friday, April 23rd was my first day on my bike. It felt so good to be riding again. I didn’t go very far, a little over 12 miles. I don’t want to over-do on the first few days. I hope to work up to being able to do upwards of 30 miles a day…several days in a row.

Saturday. It’s chilly this morning as I set out to ride the Windsor Locks Canal. I’m not going particularly fast, nor do I want to. I’m averaging, maybe, 7 to 8 miles an hour; savoring the sunshine, the birds singing, geese honking on the river and the bull frogs raising quite a rumpus in the pools created when the river rose then receded. It is a glorious morning. No need to rush.

Saw evidence of beaver activity, but no Kamikaze baby bunnies or chipmunks. I guess it’s still too early in the season, being it’s the 25th of April.

Terry’s Island
The southern tip of Terry’s Island, as usual this time of year, is under water. The island is approximately a mile long and has an interesting history. A friend of mine, Bonnie Enes, is doing extensive research on the island and the families who owned parts of it and lived there, in order to write as complete a history as possible. If any one reading this is a descendant of the Terry’s or any other family who lived there, please get in touch with me by email at swbikelady@yahoo.com and give me your email address where Bonnie can contact you. So often someone will email me and say I am a descendant of so-and-so and I’m looking for information, but never give me a way to get back to them. Quite frustrating.

I came up to a gentleman carrying two huge pails hung from the handlebars of his bike. I asked what he was catching. He said fiddleheads. Well, at least he won’t be telling stories of the one that got away. ☺

Shadblow is in full bloom. Fishermen will tell you that when the Shadblow blooms the shad are migrating back up-river. The numbers of shad are diminishing over the last few years. It is thought that perhaps the abundance of blues and strippers eating the shad is the cause.

The condition of the pathway surface is continuing to deteriorate. Because I’m riding pretty slowly, I don’t mind the bumps caused by cracks and an occasional root heave. However, I’m told by another biker on the path, that the surface is scheduled to be torn up and repaved. I would prefer hard packed stone dust, but paved will be nice for a few years.

The path from the bridge over the mechanical works of the locks up to the parking lot is paved and landscaped. Eventually this will continue over the Suffield bridge into Enfield.

A car? Get outta the way!
As I’m riding along, I hear what sounds like a car. I looked in my mirror and there is a black car bearing down on me from behind. I jam on the brakes and get onto the extremely narrow edge of the path and let the car go barreling past. The trunk of the car says Suffield Police. When was he planning to let me know he was behind me?

Two minutes later, another car. Almost didn’t hear this one. I get out of the way and the marker plate that tells me it’s a Suffield town vehicle. There are three men in this one.

Come to find out, someone called 911 that there was an injured person on the canal path. I don’t think they found anything, and both cars had the opportunity to (almost) run me into the canal a second time on their return trip.

For the birds
This time of year is good for locating last year’s Orioles nests. There’s no foliage hiding them yet. However, I didn’t seen any. Maybe they were blown down by the winter/spring winds. The canal path is home to lots of Orioles.

A good ride. There won’t be time on Sunday for riding, but I hope Monday offers an opportunity.