Tuesday October 29 2013

Ice Cold Beer!
Sun/Cloud/37F

Early start and a productive day working in the woods.

Knocked off just after 3pm, changed into dry cloths and was on the road by 3:30.

Nixed the gravel because the sun was already low enough to be in my eyes. Jumped on the Autoroute down to the border.

Took the tar down to Morgan and then moved over to the gravel on Sunset Drive. From Sunset I headed back north on Gore and followed it all the way to Bates Hill. West on Bates Hill road back to 111 and Derby.

Time was when I scarcely ever went to Morgan any way other than Bates Hill Road, but it's been at least three or four years since I went that way.

I'd forgotten how wonderful Bates Hill Road is - full of wiggly turns and rises and dips - kind of similar to 111 between Derby and Morgan, but so much more fun and so much more to see on the gravel. This particular day I was going west, whereas before I was almost always going east. Either way it's a great ride!

I stopped at the Derby Village Store for some vittles and beer and there I made a mistake. When I put that six-pack of Harpoon I.P.A. straight from the beer cooler into my pack I might as well have strapped


a block of ice across my lower back. Up until then I'd been quite toasty, but I definitely had the shivers from there to home.

Having covered 61 miles, I pulled into the Bonnie Castle at exactly 5:30 and headed right for the sauna, which I knew would still be warm from last night. I started a new fire down there and after a bit of a warm-up came up to the house and started a fire there so it'd be warmed up by the time my other queen got home.