Bike Ride -- Sun. May 30

Wanting to stretch legs after two long runs and to get in something in lieu of a Monday off, so an evening bike ride: headed out at about 6:30 through state school to rail trail and all the way down to 181, then down to Bondsville and on to the old rail trail in Palmer. Takes about 30 mins to get there. Go straight up onto trail and follow high route a while then low route and reach river v. soon. Explore river left (south) a way, but it's wide, deep-ish and soft bottomed; also there appeared to be a house with people on river bank, so turned back and headed along back to other side of the trail. Find a spot that's wide but not *too* deep looking, and with a mainly stony bottom. Shoes off, tie round neck, bike overhead; gloves and phone in pockets -- that turned out to be a BAD idea, as water was deeper than I thought: up to mid-thigh, flooding all my shorts pockets...

Over barbed wire on other bank, reassemble self and follow tiny trail towards target rail trail. Several obstacles, and try several routes, but eventually come out opposite rail trail where I started (avoiding a strange bunker hole, 8 feet deep) cross live railway and back on rail trail. By then much time has ticked by, and I'm bug bitten and worried about drying out phone, so shortly take to the road again, after just a bit of exploration of this newer (to me) rail trail section. Bike back hard and fast via SoLib, NoLib, then rail trail and Jackson; feel loose and pleasantly tired. Home at 8:30 or so.

Total: 19.25 miles, of which 2.5 were hard trail. Total 400' ascent and similar descent.