90+ Degrees...A Long, Hot, Dusty Evening and Some Lessons Learned

Tonight was fantastic...39.64 miles official. I did a couple laps around the parking lot to make it an even 40. Three hours and ten minutes of nearly non-stop riding with the exception of a couple of photo ops. Hope you enjoy! I sure did.


I didn't realize it had gotten as hot as they say it was...97 degrees!!! No wonder I felt the way I did the last thirty minutes I was out. However, it did make that cold beer taste better when I got home. Nothing works better than that to wash down the dust.

Tonight's ride provided me with some interesting sights. Deer, turkeys, weasels, field mice, song birds, beautiful wild flowers, and a trail system and forest that badly needs some rain.
I discovered that a wild turkey can run at a speed upwards of 17 mph before taking a brief flight down the trail in front of me. While it was running, it reminded of a velociraptor from the mover Jurassic Park. The same damn turkey was lurking near the trail on each succeeding lap and I felt that maybe it was planning an attack in retaliation for my scaring the hell out of it.

Another discovery I made is...don't be fooled by a weasel's cute looks. They have huge pointy teeth. Well, huge in relationship to their size that is. I had just topped out on one of the larger hills and rode around a corner to stumble upon a weasel that was in the middle of mauling a little rodent...shrew, vole, field mouse or something like that. It was a vicious relentless attack.
I'm glad they are small, otherwise they would be greatly feared.I obviously startled the little critter and it scampered off the trail leaving this tiny rodent on the ground bloody and gasping for air. I felt like I was watching an episode of Mutual of Omaha's Wild Kingdom. You have to be old to remember that show. Anyway, no sooner had I walked a few feet past the bloody scene that little weasel came tearing out of the grass to finish the job and drag its dinner off into the protection of the forest.

The ride itself was good. No, it was great! I had experienced a good deal of stress during the day at school. I'm really getting sick of mean, rude, and violent children. At this point in the year it is hard to find the patience to deal with how cruel kids can be to one another. The saddest and scariest part is the fact that they have no remorse or no sense that what they did was wrong. I just don't get it.On a personal note...the rides like tonight's always give me some good time to think about things in my own life...I also learned today that the truth can hurt. Hopefully there will be many brighter days in the future. I'm sure there will be.