Entry #11) Sunday in The Park With George (Monday, too)

Photo by Dustin Ramsey

 I think I’m hooked on the Arboretum…

For starters, the paved roadways of the Arboretum offer less resistance than the hard-packed crushed limestone of the IPP. Except for some minor detours, the portion of the IPP I have been riding on is a straight flat path running parallel to the train tracks.

You can see from the map of the Arboretum there are all of the twists and turns in the roadway as it winds its way around the park. What isn’t visible are the hills.

The park is a little bit further away than the IPP. (15 mins vs. 5 mins) Parking for the IPP is a commuter train station so it is sometimes difficult to find a parking spot. The Arboretum offers snowshoeing and cross-country skiing in the winter month, which my wife and children enjoy, so we bought an annual membership to the park. The pass covers an entrance fee and parking, so parking at the Arboretum has not been an issue.

Photo by Dustin Ramsey

The clincher is the scenery, especially now with the trees and flowers being in to blossom. (I’m sure fall will be spectacular, too.) 

I saw a deer feeding at the edge of the forest on Sunday and I hear all sorts of birds singing in the woods when cars aren't present.

On my 2^nd and 3^rd visits to the Arboretum I rode a 4.9 mile loop around the east side of the park. The 1^st of these 2 rides was on Sunday afternoon. The weather was beautiful so traffic (car, sight-seeing tram, bikers & runners) was a bit of a hassle. I don’t recall the exact statistics of the ride, but it took me a little more than 30 minutes.

The following day, with no traffic interference or photo stops to slow my pace I did that 4.9mile circuit in 28 minutes, averaging 10.8mph and hitting a top speed of 23 mph (This was the day following my weekly Avonex injection so I was quite pleased WHHEEE….)

On my next ride I might add on a shorter loop at the end. The  only one problem with that plan is that the first opportunity to exit the main route comes after the longest hill of the ride…UGH. As I described in an earlier posting, the arm movement required to power the HC is akin to bench press/rowing exercises. Climbing hills is similar to doing pyramid workouts, where it gets harder and harder as you go up. But, unlike the weight machine, you CAN”T QUIT until you are the summit. (Unless you want to roll backwards down the hill)

Anyway, bye for now.

Music

Forest Sounds

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