The Marcellus Loop

October 2, 2012

I had the time today to take a longer ride. The brooks saddle feels like it's breaking in well, so I decided to take a trip to a nearby village. On the map it seemed pretty simple, and without much thought, I chose the counter clockwise direction. I'm not sure if this was a better or worse choice in the end.

The loop goes about 22 miles. The first 7 are mostly flat with some small rolling hills. The next 8 miles are all uphill. Sometimes it is less steep, sometimes it is more steep. It's just constantly up hill. And it started to rain. Not a heavy rain, just a dampening drizzle. My hands got pretty tired. Except when I was pushing up hill. Then they got a rest, but my legs and lungs did not. Finally I crested the last hill at about 15 miles and rocketed down the last 7 to home.

I did find one place that I had never seen before.

I had never been on this stretch of road before, even though it is with in 6 miles of where I live. One thing that cycling does is allow us to take the time to see things that are right in front of us all the time. In the US we so frequently see the world through the windscreen of a car, and the world passes so quickly. Even while cycling I have a tendency to focus so much on the destination and keeping my speed and cadence up that I don't stop often enough to see the beauty around me and enjoy the sights. When I'm on the bike, it's time to slow down and enjoy!