Rush hour bike ride

Despite heat and humidity we conspired to leave work an hour early and head across town and then South to Welch for an evening ride on the Cannon River Trail. Traffic merging from three to two lanes caused bumper to bumper traffic to the 35E merge when we spun off to head South. The longest wait occurred two minutes from the parking lot at Welch where we had to wait for blacktop to be rolled on the road. It gave us time to sunscreen and for me to repack valuables into the bike bag. Still we didn't hit the trail until 5:45 pm.

For those riders like us who like the trail to ourselves, this is a prime time to bike especially during the week. Not only is the trail traffic light, but you also get to see more animals and hear the incredible cacophony of bird song.

You can try to sing this to the 12 days of Christmas, well maybe not...but here is our litany of animals: butterflies, cardinals, cat, chipmunk, three eaglets on the eagle nest calling for their parents, one hummingbird, kildeers on the pond shore, explosive grouse, groundhog, 26 (count them) rabbits, one green slimed turtle on the trail, a weasel and a vulture flying right in front of us at eye level. This doesn't even account for the flowers.

We continued at a good pace even though a tandem passed us (curse them) on the way to Cannon Falls. Just over 13 mph which is now a consistent pace for us. We were the last souls to leave Welch with darkness settling in and a crescent moon shining over the bluffs. The birds were still singing but otherwise it was quiet with the red glow of sunset lingering on the hills.

And yes, this is why we bike...