Charlie Morning

Charlie, after we had a morning excursion together.
I stuck my baseball cap on him that I use for outdoor work.

He was not impressed.

But he is such a good sport about it.

The sideways glance as if to say. 'Really? You are going to keep pointing that thing at me?'

And...I am bored. Totally bored. Let's do something else.

Yesterday morning he didn't let me out the door without him for my predawn bicycle ride.
I let him come along and wondered how his tiny legs would deal with me pedaling.

I didn't go very far, but he kept up when I pedaled slowly and when I sped up he just followed unless a scent at the side of the road interested him.

Charlie was behind me sniffing at the edge of the gravel road. At this time of day and any time of day there is almost never any traffic. Only 3 homes are on this road and the guy at the end of the road never is up early. My closest neighbor leaves at 7 to go to work. Most of the time, this road is empty. Well, not during planting or harvest season!

Anyway, that is getting way off track. I just wanted to assure you all that Charlie is perfectly safe with me. He has come a long way and has instant recall. Well, most of the time, that is if he isn't on a chase. So he still wears the collar on these outings when I don't have him on a leash.

I'm very lucky that I have all of this time to work with him. That makes a huge difference I think!

Even with the cloud cover things got pretty neat. Bluish sky and pinks on the horizon.

And then the horizon began to glow...

I zoomed in on the trees and caught the change of light. 

And when the sun peeked through, it was partially hidden by clouds.

The whole sky changed colors and the clouds moved in.

Charlie and I headed towards home.

Just before going down the driveway, I had to stop and take one parting shot using field corn for framing.

We got back to the house and did our morning chores together. Sven was happy to have a new spot to eat nettles and other weedy plants. If I had an army of goats my weed issue would be gone. However, I'm not prepared to re-fence this place for goats.

Rich got up after 10am and I convinced him later in the day to take a short drive with me and check out Runge Hollow for fishing later this fall.

I intend to go back there and to Sidie Hollow to get some photos in infrared and in color. Sunrise at Runge would be pretty neat. Sidie has incredible fall colors that reflect on to the man made lake.

Oh ... and how did Charlie do? He loved it! He never once ran in front of the bike. If we were to go a long distance however, I doubt he'd be up for it. Friends have suggested I get a basket or buddy seat to put him in.
I'll consider it.

Dirt roads

...and out of the way places....

Getting there in the morning is easier now with my new stealth vehicle.

Fog can be seen over the Kickapoo River Valley and building in the dips and tiny valleys in between as the ridge starts to come alive with birdsong.

And then I waited and watched.  Zeke's cabin was quiet. He never gets up early anyway.
On days like this, I envy his view, however during blizzards and cold gusting winds...I
don't.

I turned around like I did yesterday and worked the gears and cruised towards the next high point across the ridge. Those folks that say you don't forget how to ride a bike? They are right. But the near gearing is pretty neat and allows me to get up all but the steepest of the hills.

I was sweating, but I got there in plenty of time to watch the fog start to roll across the ridge top.
According to my clock, the sun had been up for about 5 minutes, however it was hidden behind clouds.

I can't resist a good *purplie* morning. Not when there is fog involved. And from now until November, we should have morning fog off and on.

Someone said I should get a basket put on the bike for Charlie. Even if he doesn't/won't ride in it, it would be handy to carry my tripod and a few other things. I'll have to inquire at the bike shop or look around. I wouldn't mind a rack in back either.
Time will tell.

I think I'll hit some trails tomorrow, my day off from appointments. I'll just make a lunch and pack a back pack.

I'm diggin' the new Stealth Rider.

Well well now

After a week of very long doctor appointments along with many road miles put on the Subaru, I told Rich that I was going to go to the Kickapoo Valley Reserve on Friday or Saturday. Well, even perhaps on Sunday.

My first plan was to go on Friday and to borrow my neighbor's Roadmaster bike she has.

Yesterday afternoon on a whim, I grabbed my keys and headed out the door. I drove to town and did something I never do. I stopped at a bike shop.

Years ago ... probably 1982 maybe? My sister and I went to a bicycle shop and bought matching road bicycles, 10 speed bikes. We eventually went on a pretty epic sister sister road trip of two days and nearly 150 miles. Our bikes were not composite lightweights, but heavy and sturdy Ralieghs that weighed nearly 18 lbs a piece.

Bicycling has come a long way since then.
So have bicycle helmets.

The guy at the shop, Roger, came out and we started looking. And soon I was cruising the back streets of Viroqua on a Mountain/Road bike. At first I was hesitant, then...I felt the joy seeping back into my soul. The warm air caressed my face and hair through the helmet vents and I felt freedom creeping into my body in the form of childish joy.
That 10 minute ride gave me what I had been searching for.

Roger spent a long time adjusting the handle bars to suit me. The seat to suit me, ...and explaining the brake system, the gears, and how to take the wheels off.

We talked a bit about putting a rack on back for things like camera gear, tripods, and even a crate for Charlie. He said it wouldn't super easy, but it could be done.

So before dawn I crept out with my chore boots on and climbed aboard my Bliss 3. What a great name. Bliss. Yep, you figure that out.

The dawn suddenly belonged to me.
The cool damp air rushing past my face as the morning brightened around me.

I literally beat the sunrise to 3 different spots before the sun poked its face over the horizon.

And the morning was ...
incredible.

As I rode from favorite place to favorite place I began to feel more comfortable with being able to shift for the hills.
The feeling of being a kid again was still there, only now I had an incredible backdrop for my ride.

I felt free and resisted the urge to shout out in joy. Geeze, I could have because no one except the wildlife would have heard me.

Watch out trails and backroads.
I'm going to be a 'kid' again.

Oh yeah. I have the neatest bad ass helmet too.

It is a horrid bright green with a neat visor. It is called a Tremor Helmet. Roger said he thought of the movie Tremor when he saw it. I said "The Earth Shall Tremor as I ride!"
He thought that was perfect.

But hey, and old lady can be excited about riding bikes again, right?

Ride on.

The inner child awaits me.

[Yep, it fits nicely in the back of my Outback too!]