Biking at Bradbury and Tent Town on the Trail

We got some good fun mountain biking in this weekend, but I didn't run. It was just too hot. When I am moving along on the bike, I create enough air movement to stay fairly cool. Running in the heat and humidity really wipes me out for days. With mountain biking (or road biking for that matter,) I can get some good exercise and have fun on hot humid days without depleting myself too much. My next long run will be tomorrow with Mary. I'll do an hour before we meet and 1-2 hours afterwards to make it a good training effort for Vermont.

Yesterday Kevin and I biked at Bradbury Mountain in Pownal. It's not really a mountain, only a small hill. I think it's 450 feet above sea level or something like that. I ran the trails there many years ago, but don't remember a thing about it. Yesterday we set out on our bikes with a park map and a good attitude. We just like to have fun on our rides, that's the only goal.

The trails were pretty wide for single track, but had rocks and roots and mud and short steep climbs to make it a little challenging for me. I also liked that the bridges were wide enough that I didn't get all stressed out every time I had to cross one. Some trails I have been on have been so challenging that I get either scared or frustrated and then I stop having fun. This wasn't the case at Bradbury. I really had a lot of fun. The park isn't very big, but there is a good network of trails. It's less than an hour drive from our house and it is well worth it. We'll definitely go back there for more riding.

This morning I found that there are now two tents on my beloved River Run Trail. The trail is completely blocked by the tents, fire pit, cooking gear, chairs, clothes line, etc. I think they are here for the summer. I could see through the screens that people were sound asleep inside the tents. I took a paper card and a pencil out of the fishing registration box at the end of the trail, and wrote them a nice note, kindly requesting that they clear the path so people can get through on foot and on bike. I even said please and thank you and put a smiley face on it so there wouldn't be any hard feelings. I left it on a rock near the fire pit. I really can't understand how these people could fail to recognize the fact that they are blocking the trail. So far, each time I've run through they have been asleep. I really don't want to go through there if they are up and about. Maybe this will encourage me to keep getting out there to run earlier than usual!