In every walk with Nature one receives far more than he seeks.
John Muir
I can just as easily replace the word walk in this quote with bicycle ride. As I rode through this one area I noticed a scene that I wanted to photograph. I took several images but was not satisfied with any of them. I turned to get back on the bike and noticed this scene. It is a busy image but the colors, eclectic shapes and patterns caused me to squat down beside the water and accept the image. Because I took the time to stop and squat a woman walking by also stopped to see what I was seeing. She thanked me and we both smiled as we received nature’s tapestry. Taken on my bicycle ride yesterday along Spring Creek Trail.
A gift I did not expect when I bought this e-bike is being able to hear more of the natural world. Her voice has always been there, hidden in the bustle of the city, drowned out by the sound of man’s machines. My ebike has a small and almost silent motor, so I feel its assist more than hear it.
I like riding on the city’s hard surface trails where I am no longer in the midst of traffic but become more immersed in nature. Now the sounds of the natural world begin to dominate when I ride alongside the river on the Poudre Trail or follow the creek along Spring Creek Trail. In some areas I am surrounded by a canopy of trees and shrubbery, which are wonderful sound barriers to the pollution of traffic noise. This allows me to hear the water sing it’s melody on its journey; hear songbirds as I tootle along; hear squirrels barking and squeaking as they hide atop the trees; hear the alert prairie dogs barking warnings; hear the caw of a crow soaring above; hear the wind rustling cottonwood leaves along the trail; and every once in a while hearing the song of a bird I’m not familiar with. And one sound that strikes a note in my soul is the almost complete moments of silence found on these trails. I love the gift of this language of the natural world.
I noticed on my bicycle ride yesterday evening how many milkweed pods are now popping open. It is that time of the year. There are about 110 species that occur in the Americas. These plants can grow to about 5 feet tall, usually occurring in clusters and forming colonies. They are perennial plants, which means an individual plant lives for more than one year, growing each spring from rootstock and seeds rather than seeds alone. Over 450 insects are known to feed on some portion of the plant. Milkweeds are the required host plants for caterpillars of the monarch butterfly and thus play a critical role in the monarch’s life cycle. Their beauty is on display all along Spring Creek Trail and the Natural Areas.
This past Thursday I went over 400 miles on the bicycle’s odometer. Which means in 49 days I have averaged a little over 8 miles a day. This includes 5 days of not riding due to rain, my dental surgery and a couple days of logging over 20 miles. I’m finding the 35 mile range on the battery to be accurate. If I ride 8-10 miles a day I need to recharge about every three days. It takes about 2.5 hours to recharge my battery when it’s at 50% or 4-5 hours to fully charge. When using the assist levels I ride almost exclusively in the lowest assist level (it has three levels). I have only used the highest assist level once to make sure it worked. I only use assist level two on one hill that kicks my butt. 😂 There are places where the trails and bicycle paths are flat enough I ride with the assist off. Riding has increased my heart rate and my active zone minutes on my Fitbit. Pedaling on…
… to be human is to become visible while carrying what is hidden as a gift to others…
David Whyte
It was a 2.2 mile ride to coffee this morning but I decided to take the long-cut home and added 9.3 miles. It was wonderful! We had another beautiful day here in Colorado. I spent time at Reservoir Ridge this afternoon for some much needed reading and journaling. It was one of those days. Nature is a gift!
I took a nice gentle ride early yesterday evening along Spring Creek Trail to Spring Creek Park. There is lots of natural beauty along this trail, so I hope to be able to show more photos as I ride this trail. This photo was taken shortly before the sun set around 6:55 pm. I am gathering with a few high school classmates today for an ‘end of summer’ picnic at 11:00 am. It looks like we will have plenty of sunshine and I assume more than enough food. I am taking a crockpot of barbecue pulled chicken for making sliders and a roll of Tums. I hope you enjoy your weekend!
It’s been a quiet Labor Day for me and hope you have enjoyed your day. I began the day with an Old Town Mocha and wonderful conversation with Jeff at Mugs. About mid morning I took a nice ride along Spring Creek Trail and Poudre Trail. I rode 23.4 miles and returned with tender buttocks. The trails were busy as people were out enjoying the weather before the cooler fall temperatures move in over the next few weeks. This image is one of 5 small ponds along the Spring Creek Trail on the east side of town and part of the Cattail Chorus Natural Area. Just behind these trees is the Poudre River and the 12.3 miles of hard-surface trail which follows the Poudre River from North Overland Trail to East Drake Road and connects to CSU Environmental Learning Center. About a half mile from this location I connect up with the Poudre Trail. After the ride I treated myself with a Turtle Pecan Cluster Blizzard at Dairy Queen. After all, it was on the way.
