Training Log Archive: danfosterIn the 1 days ending Jul 20, 2021:
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Tuesday Jul 20, 2021 #
Mountain Biking w/ Jess 2:00:00 [3] 15.0 mi (8:00 / mi)
You know what was missing from MSAR this year? Hordes of biting insects. Never fear, I got some...
Visiting DC friend DWeb and son were interested in a mellow, pre-dinner ride around the wildlife refuge, and that seemed like my speed as well as I was still sore from MSAR. Then they pushed it back to a 7PM start. No problem, I'd done gravel rides through there that ended around 7, and it had been fine. Well, apparently the last two weeks of rain have turned those wetlands into a giant deer fly breeding facility. We got eaten alive, with Pigpen-style cartoon clouds of flies around all of our heads as we rode. The water was higher than I've ever seen it, with lots of mud and entire sections of trail flooded. And biking with a young rider meant we couldn't just hammer to get ahead of the bugs. It was probably the worst ride I've ever done.
Got back to the car around 8PM and was peeling out of there 15 seconds later. Jess needed a walk, and I still had my bike shoes on, so we headed down to Delaney and did a fast night loop. No bugs! It was perfect, and just what I needed. We surprised a deer, and Jess stayed with me. Finished the ride with a blood-orange moon rising above us through the wildfire haze. Came home, applied copious Benadryl cream to the deer fly bites, and relaxed on the patio as the moon continued to rise.
Lots of wildlife sightings across the two rides: several big hawks or owls, lots of bunnies, the deer, a big black snake. An infinite number of deer flies.
Visiting DC friend DWeb and son were interested in a mellow, pre-dinner ride around the wildlife refuge, and that seemed like my speed as well as I was still sore from MSAR. Then they pushed it back to a 7PM start. No problem, I'd done gravel rides through there that ended around 7, and it had been fine. Well, apparently the last two weeks of rain have turned those wetlands into a giant deer fly breeding facility. We got eaten alive, with Pigpen-style cartoon clouds of flies around all of our heads as we rode. The water was higher than I've ever seen it, with lots of mud and entire sections of trail flooded. And biking with a young rider meant we couldn't just hammer to get ahead of the bugs. It was probably the worst ride I've ever done.
Got back to the car around 8PM and was peeling out of there 15 seconds later. Jess needed a walk, and I still had my bike shoes on, so we headed down to Delaney and did a fast night loop. No bugs! It was perfect, and just what I needed. We surprised a deer, and Jess stayed with me. Finished the ride with a blood-orange moon rising above us through the wildfire haze. Came home, applied copious Benadryl cream to the deer fly bites, and relaxed on the patio as the moon continued to rise.
Lots of wildlife sightings across the two rides: several big hawks or owls, lots of bunnies, the deer, a big black snake. An infinite number of deer flies.