Bike Ride 16, Exploring area Creek Sides

I went on a lovely ride last week, and then forgot to blog about it.  I'll do it now.

 I started out on my normal neighborhood route, but when I came out onto Wallace Terrace near Brookfield, I followed alongside the creek instead of taking Wallace Terrace.  It was a rutted, hard packed dirt trail through the grass, very bumpy but lovely, with the creek on one side and trees on the other.

 Then the hard packed earth trail ended and it was just grass, much easier to ride on.

 Huge grey clouds were following me and I thought about turning back, but decided to keep going.  It was warm but not hot; a nice day for riding.

 Toward the bride, a dirt path appeared again, and goldenrod lied the path and the creek bed.

 One section reminded me so much of a scene from the show Little House on the Prairie (above) that I could almost hear the theme song playing in my mind.

 The Bridge was part of Allen Side Road.

The creek side path continued on the other side of the Allen Side Road bridge, but I decided to ride to it's other end via the street, then follow the path back to this point.

 I rested for awhile and then rode down Allen Side Road, to where it turns into Base Line, and followed along side base line until I came to the other end of the creek, seen below.

 The creek was much wider here, and so were the paths on either side.  On the left side of the creek, there was a rutted dirt path, but on the right side, it was all mown grass, so I chose that side to ride on.

 The photo above was taken from the bridge on Base Line.

 The grass was nice and flat except for one area that had a very deep dip going down, and then up again.  I had to get off my bike and walk both down and up, and when I was at the bottom of the dip, I could almost kiss the top of the dip as it was almost parallel with my face. It's hard to see in the photo, below.

 There were several round  cement pools of water to the left of the trail, behind a fence. I googled to see what it is, and it is a Water Pollution Control Plant, where they divert the creek water and test it for pollution, and clean it before putting it back in the creek and sending it to the St. Mary's River.

Water Pollution Control Plant

 The grey clouds were now both in front and behind me and I was sure I'd get rained on, but managed to miss the rain, somehow.

 The creek was lovely but hard to see at this point because of all of the tall grass, taller than me, growing along both sides of the creek.

 I got off my bike toward the end od the trail and took one last photo before I emerged onto Allen Side Road.  I was worried about the clouds so I didn't follow the creek side trail back to Wallace Terrace; I used the roads instead.

When I emerged onto Wallace Terrace, there was a rainbow, but by the time I pulled my camera out of my bag, it had disappeared.

I rode home, tired but happy.  I loved the feeling of being in the country, so close to home.  There are other portions of the creek that I haven't tried yet, that I hope to try soon.

Bike Ride 15, A Hungry Beaver!

I saw the cutest beaver yesterday evening at sunset! 

I was riding on Whitefish Island, which is near the Sault Locks canal.  You can see it in the map below.

My route

I had originally planned to do a different, longer bike ride, but when I drove to Fort Creek, where I wanted to hop onto the trail, I discovered my hatch wouldn't open.  My Dad banged into my trusty old Chevy Blazer with his much bigger Dodge Ram a few days ago.  He swore he didn't hit hard enough to damage it, but it turns out he had hit my spare tire and pushed in the door enough to make it so the latch on the hatch wouldn't release.  My Uncle Buck and cousin Wayne fixed it.  Wayne had to attach a chain from my truck to his tow thing, and I had to sit in my truck, pushing on the brakes while he gave it a few yanks with his truck. Good thing I had my seatbelt on or my head would have hit the windshield!  It was uncomfortable, but it worked, and I was able to open my hatch to get my beautiful bike out.  It was too late to ride at Fort Creek so I parked at the mall and biked over to the canal, and then to Whitefish Island.

The first part of the trail was dirt with loose gravel and steep but short hills, down, up, down, up.  There were so many twists and turns and the path was so narrow that I had to get off and push several times.  When I came to a turn with a wider path, I took it and headed left.  I was trying to get onto the circle that would do a circuit of the island but somehow missed it and ended up following a path that led to several wooden bridges over a swamp or marsh.  It went right under the International Bridge.

My bike on a bridge on Whitefish Island

Under the International Bridge

 I took a smaller path, to the right, and rode under the bridge into a field of flowers.  The path was going away from the open water and back to the canal though, so I turned around and went back to the fork and headed left instead, toward the rapids.

Rapids under the International Bridge

 I rode as far as I could, but then the path became impassible by bike so I stopped for a short breather and took loads of photos.

St. Mary's River

 The water was very high and I always worry about getting stuck in a flood zone if they let too much water through (it happened once but was nice because it was a hot day and the knee high water was cool, lol).

My bike at the end of the path

 The photo above shows where I had to stop.  There were too many boulders and rocks along the shore line for me to take the bike further. Right after I took this photo, my front basket came loose. I'd been carrying a cooler bag with one frozen bottle of water, one half frozen bottle of water, and one non frozen bottle of water inside, and the weight was too much for the little shower curtain holders that I was using to attach the basket to the bike handles.  Luckily I have a sturdier basket at the back of the bike, on the rear rack,  so I just put the cooler there instead. 

 I headed back the way I'd come, and paused to take photos of the swamp/marsh and it's cute inhabitants.

Cute ducks!

The ducks were very sweet and curious, and they all swam up to me hoping I had treats for them.  Sadly, I did not.  Next time I'll have to bring some bird seeds.

Bridge over swamp/marsh

 The long bridge over the wetlands area was so cool.  The water was high, right up to the bottom of the bridge, and I stopped often to watch the ducks and beavers.

Coral Townie by Electra

 My bike has taken me to so many pretty places, but I think this is the prettiest so far.  I love my bike!

Geese flying

 Sunset brought a slight cooling of the air, thank God .We've been having the hottest summer on record; almost every day is between 90-100 F with the humidity...something we are not used to in Northern Ontario,  Canada.  Normally 80 F is perceived of as very hot, but now it actually feels cool to me when it "drops" to 80.  It felt so nice that I stood here for awhile, enjoying the scenery, the geese and ducks and beaver and the absence of mosquitoes.  Usually a swampy area has tons of mosquitoes but this area was free of the pests; maybe because the ducks eat all of the larvae?  I don't know why it they weren't buzzing around, but it was lovely to be bite free.

Beaver

Beaver

 This one beaver lay there floating and eating the water plants for about half an hour.  It was so comical to watch him or her stuff his or her face with both little human-like hands. I had to use zoom to get these photos; the video at the start of this blog entry shows the little guy a lot better.

Sunset over the bridge

 The sunset was lovely, and when I left the marshy area for the clear water at the end of the (flooded) bridge, a flock of ducks swam over to greet me, and then quacked loudly because I had no food for them.

Curious ducks

 You can see from their wake that they made a beeline to me from across the pond.  So cute!

Hungry ducks

 When the realized I had no treats for them, most of the ducks swam back across the pond, but some decided to take a walk on the bridge, lol.

Ducks on a bridge

They were so cute and comical. I love how they shake their tail feathers when they walk.

Soo Locks Canal at sunset

 The last hilly bit of Whitefish Island almost did me in and I had to sit by the locks for a bit to recover from an asthma attack. It's my own fault; I shouldn't have tried to ride the bike up a very steep but short hill. It was too much for my lungs to cope with, especially on such a hot and humid evening.  After I could breathe again I walked across the canal on the little swinging bridge they have set up, and biked back to the hub trail near the mall.

Boardwalk near Station Mall, at night

I sat and admired the view and the bit of breeze coming off the river for a few minutes and then rode my bike back to my truck.  I passed my parents along the way (they walk along the boardwalk almost every night), and my Dad told me he has a tire shaped dent in the back of his truck, from hitting mine.  Oops.  Maybe next time he'll look before backing into the driveway.  Thankfully nobody was hurt, and neither vehicle was badly damaged.

I couldn't go for a bike ride today because it poured rain all day. I'm not complaining though; we so needed the rain. Maybe I can take the bike out tomorrow.  I want to try the Fort Creek portion of the hub trail.

Bike Ride 12, 8.5 km Evening Ride Along Waterfront and into Memory

I had such a lovely bike ride this evening!
It was so hot today, with the humidity, so I waited until just before sunset and put my bike in my truck and drove to the waterfront trail.  It was still 90 F when I set out, but much cooler than it had been all day.

This is the route I took; I started at the green sign, and turned around and went back at the blue sign.

My bike and my truck

 I parked at the far end of the mall parking lot, near the waterfront portion of the hub trail (above).

Tall Ship

 I rode along the trail until I was across from the Bondar Marina. I was soooo happy that the Tall Ship I saw yesterday was still there!  Isn't it beautiful?

Sunset over International Bridge connecting twin Soo's

 The sun was just starting to set and the clouds were dancing across the sky.

 The patio was full of patrons, stopping to get a meal or refreshing drink.  Something, I don't know what, smelled amazing. One of these days I'll have to stop there. I used to stop there for drinks, years ago, with Annie (my miniature poodle).

My Townie and Tall Ships

 The Tall Ship was made from a dark  wood that absolutely glowed; I wonder if it was waxed? 

 Everyone was taking photos of the breathtaking ship, and the sunset.  Mother nature put on quite a show this evening.

 For ten dollars, I could have toured the ship, but I didn't want to leave my bike unattended.  I have a lock but it's still so new that I feel weird about leaving it; especially since it cost so much that I could never replace it if it is stolen.

Tall Ship

 The ship is called The El Galeon, and it's on facebook, lol. It is a replica of a 16th century merchant vessel. 

 The cannons were cool! I sat there for awhile, lost in a fantasy of traveling back in time to when these ships actually plied the oceans, and depended on cannons to defend them from pirates.

 There is no way that I'd EVER climb up that rigging.  I'm terrified of heights.  I can just imagine how terrifying it would be to have to take in or let out sails in rough seas. 

 I'm not sure, but I think that's a photo of the Virgin Mary, or some other saint on the back of the ship.

 As I pedaled away, I turned for another look and had to take one more photo of the striking ship, silhouetted by the sunset.

 All of the other boats seemed so tiny in comparison to the tall ship.

 The sun glinted off of the city hall, which was built specifically to reflect the sunlight in this manner.

 Further along the path, ducks were swimming into the spray from a fountain. Lucky ducks!  I was drinking copious amounts of water and gatorade but I was sweating faster than I could drink; it was so hot and humid.

 I had to get a shot of the moon rising over this billboard, which says, "There is a little wolf in all of us."  Too bad it wasn't a full moon, lol.

 I passed the Bushplane Museum.  My brother worked there, ages ago.  I've still never been inside. I'll have to play tourist one day soon and visit all of the local museums. I haven't been to the main museum or the Old Stone House in years, and I always loved visiting in the past.

 This rusted old ship, the Yankcanuck, is docked at Purvis Marine, next to the Bushplane Museum. She was built in 1963 and spent most of her life shuttling steel supplies between the Algoma Steel here in the Sault, and Detroit.  She also went to the arctic a few times, and supplied Northern communities, before going back to work for the steel plant. She was a working ship until 2008 but is currently laid up.  I feel sorry for her but I guess even ships deserve to rest and retire.

Seaplanes docked outside of Bushplane Museum.

 I have no idea why someone painted one eye, complete with eyebrow, here, lol.

 The seagulls in this area were going mad, swooping and diving and calling to one another.  They seemed to be getting ready to settle in for the night. Of course by the time I got my camera out again, they were all gone from view, lol.

 The sunset was glorious tonight. 

 The bike path was lighted nicely so I felt completely safe...until I decided to turn on my bike lights and reflectors.

They worked great, but they have a MAJOR downside.  They attract moths!  Many moths. HUGE moths.  I discovered the problem within seconds of turning my lights on.  Something with big wings flew into my neck, freaking me out, almost making me ride directly off the path and into the water...all by accident, of course. I automatically swatted the winged creature away, praying it wasn't a bird or bat (I didn't want to hurt a bird, or be hurt by a bat). I'm not great with balance and taking one hand off the handlebars in order to swat at myself like a mad woman caused my bike to veer off the path, toward the water.  Luckily, I had the presence of mind to step off the pedal and use my foot as an impromptu break. I'm assuming the first creature was a moth, although I can't really be sure, because as I sat there, stunned, I was BOMBARDED by moths.  Yes, I know they're attracted to light, and my bike with it's 3 front lights and two reflectors was lit up like a beacon...but still!  It is NOT nice to be attacked by moths. Especially big ones.  I don't generally mind moths; I think they're cool and some are very pretty...but it is awful to have them fly at my face like crazed kamikazes.

 I decided I'd better relax and collect myself, so I  went back to where the path juts out into the water the furthest, sat here, behind the old hospitals, feeling nostalgic for all for all of the times I sat here with my dog Mac in the past. 

We used to live nearby and this was part of our evening walk for years.  There were no park benches then, and no pretty lights, and the waterfront trail didn't come this far when i lived there. I used to walk along a dirt path, and then cut through a parkinglot to get here.  I'd sit on a big curb with Mac next to me and we'd watch the sun go down.  He used to sit leaning against me with his head on my shoulder, or right beside me, with his paw on my leg or arm, lol.  He was such an affectionate dog.  I miss him.

Behind the old Soo hospitals, now a part of the hub trail.

 When I put my glasses on to start riding again,  I noticed they were very foggy, so I took them off to clean them.  Put them back on, and my breath instantly fogged them up again.  So I took them off to clean them.  Put them back on; fog again!  I couldn't ride without glasses because my vision isn't good enough at night, but the foggy glasses weren't much an improvement so I just repeatedly cleaned the things, looking for all the world like I'd suddenly developed a weird and very specific obsession.  Or compulsion. I can never remember which is which.
I finally figured out that I'd have to hold my breath until my glasses were back on my face to avoid steaming them further.  Sheesh!

Once I'd solved the Mystery of the Winged Creatures and the Secret of the Foggy Glasses (yes, I liked Nancy Drew), I resumed riding and followed the waterfront trail to the end, where it merged onto Queen Street, E. (above).  I'm not thrilled about road riding, but it was OK because Queen E.  now has a bike path right on the street!  They had just started building the path the year I sold my house.

 Above, you can see where the hub trail leaves the waterfront and goes onto Queen Street.  I rode on it for a few blocks but the cars were awful and veered so close to me that I got scared and rode on the sidewalk instead.  I only saw 1 pedestrian, and I stopped to let him go by. 

My old house, second from the corner

I rode as far as the intersection of Queen St. E., and Pine St., kitty corner from my old house.  In the photo above, it's the second house from the corner, the little white one on the right side of the white car. 

The big green house was owned by my neighbor Norma, and her husband.  They were a lovely elderly couple.  Norma moved shortly after I did. 

There used to be rose hedges running all alongside my driveway. I started them when I first bought the house and it took 8 years for them to grow into actual big hedges, full of pink roses, riotous in their growth.  The guy who bought my house cut them all down.  I want to cry whenever I go past.  I hope he left my other roses in the back yard, and my lilacs, and cherry and apple tree.  Well, not mine anymore, but I hope they're still there; especially the fragrant climbing roses that covered my deck and perfumed the air in my...his...kitchen.  I hope the lilacs are still there too. I  still have one jar of lilac jelly left from when I made it about 4 years ago now. 

I thought about turning right and heading down to the Pine Street Marina, and then on to Belleview Park, but it was downhill to the Marina, which meant uphill to come back, and I was tired and hot and sweaty so I figured I should turn around. The hill is tiny but it's enough to trigger my asthma and I was already sounding like Darth Vader every time I took a breath so I didn't want to push my luck.

 As it turned out, I had been  pedaling up a slight incline since I left the waterfront, but hadn't realized (thus the Darth Vader breathing, lol).  I didn't have to pedal AT ALL on the way back to the water; woohoo!  It was so amazing to just glide and feel the wind (and moths) on my face.

 Lights were stretched all along the waterfront, sort of merging into the lights from the International bridge in the distance.

 The moonlight on the water was so pretty I stopped my pedal-free riding to snap a shot. It didn't come out clearly, but I like it anyway.  I'm not great at night photos; my flash makes everything look brighter than it really is, and more than half of the photos come out blurry or weird, lol.

 Lights reflecting on water.

 In the above photo, set between the two streetlights (in the distance) is the Old Stone House.  It was built between 1812-1814, and has been restored to show what life was like back then, for the Ermatinger family.  The Ermatingers were involved with fur trading, and the man who built the house married an Ojibway lady, the daughter of a chief.  I always thought it was awesome that the biggest, best house built by the very first settlers was owned by a Native Canadian Princess (or whatever daughters of chiefs were called).

 When I cycled past the building above, I suddenly and vividly remembered a dream I had where I lived there and had a German shepherd type dog (which I can never have as I'm highly allergic to anything non-poodle, lol).  I had a small apartment full of paintings (in the dream), which is weird because I haven't done watercolors in years, not since my 8 week watercolor class ended ages ago.

 The photo above is one of my favorites. I love how the people are all motion blurred, the way my bike looks light orange and sparkly, and the cool pattern on the pathway.

 Nighttime transformed the plain Jane fountain into shooting flames of fire; so pretty.

 I'd NEVER before noticed that the US side of the International  bridge is lit up in Red, White, and Blue, and our Canadian side is in Red and White, just like our flags.  It's amazing how much more I notice on my bike!

 The tall ship looks like a ghost ship at night; so very cool. 

 Tall ship at night.  The second photo (above) is clearer than the first, but I like the hazy, dreamy first one better.

 I thought this sign was hysterical. It says, "Drink lots of water in this heat!  Beer is 97% water!"  LOL.

 Check out that photo above, of the Bondar Pavillion in moonlight, with the ghostly tall ship at the edge of the picture.  I took a gazillion of this photo, trying to get the ship, moon, and tent in one frame,  but the one above is my favorite.

 Or  maybe this one is my favorite???

 Or this one?  Or one of the other gazillion?  I don't know; I love them all!  I  especially love the water in this one above; check out those ripples! 

 When I got back to my truck it was 10:08 (above), and it was 7:40 (below) when I first started, so I'd been gone for about 2 and a half hours. I stopped a lot to take photos, and twice to sit and rest for a few minutes, but still, it took me 2 and a half hours to bike 8.4 kilometers (5.22 miles).  That's slow. 

I'm reading a blog called "Going Slowly", about a lovely young couple who did a bike tour around the world, and they always commented about how they moved slowly, but they still did waaaay more miles than I ever could, and much faster. If they were going slowly, I must be practically going in reverse, lol.  Mind you, they were young and fit and thin and I am middle aged and over 100 Ibs overweight so for who I am and the shape I'm in, I'm doing great.  My fitness tracker said I burned over 1000 calories tonight.  I sure hope to lose weight while biking, but even if I don't, I love it anyway.

Bike and truck at end of ride

I came home, uploaded my photos, had a bath and something to eat, wrote this, and holy God in heaven...it's 4:45 AM.  I stayed up ALL night, without planning to.  How did this happen?

Biking must give me energy. I'm going to have to start biking in the mornings instead of the evenings. I'm so not a morning person though.  OK, enough babbling; time for bed.

Goodnight all...er...goodmorning.  :-)