I really enjoy riding my bicycle, in case you couldn't tell. And since moving to Eau Claire last fall, I'm astounded by the quality of the road riding here. I'm also astounded that I never see anyone else riding when I head out for a ride. I know that people here ride, as evidenced by the 30-or-so people who showed up for the Wednesday evening ride I did last week. But of all the riding I've been doing since early March, there have been very few instances during which I've seen other cyclists out enjoying the great network of back roads available to them around Eau Claire.
Back in Appleton, I almost never did a ride during which I didn't see at least one other solo rider or group of riders. Day or time doesn't matter over there, people are always out riding. And the roads aren't half as interesting there. (Sorry Fox Valley...) Though, maybe all that riding they do over there explains why they're so damn fast. (Sorry Chippewa Valley...)
I won't even get in to how awesome the mountain biking is in Eau Claire. At least not yet.
Moving on...
Today I chose another route via The Googley Mappings and like last weekend, was unsuccessful in completing my intended ride. But also like last weekend, it didn't really matter. The weather was too beautiful to not enjoy running out of time and getting a little bit lost, as you can see from the photo above. Plus, I learned some new roads.
I headed pretty much straight east this time because I thought that's where the wind was coming from. Turns out, I was wrong. The wind was coming from the south-east-ish. It was a light wind though, so it didn't really matter too much. I rode along Lake Altoona's North Shore Drive and several times I thought I was back in Bellingham, Washington, riding along Lake Whatcom's North Shore Drive. In a lot of ways, the riding here reminds me of the riding I did in Washington. There are no mountains, of course, but there are a lot of evergreens; waterways and lakes; quiet, but bumpy roads; and it's hilly here, too; I always seem to be crossing over a ridge. I do miss seeing the mountains, but I'll take not having to ride in the rain as a trade-off.
