Training Log Archive: Mr Wonderful

Highland Rec MTB trails

Wow, hot! And this trail is like Maybury on crack. There is no room for anyone with my skill to get moving fast enough to catch a breeze or ditch the deer flies.

I seriously considered bailing out early, as I was feeling the heat before the turnoff from A to B, but then I settled into a zone and then once I cleared 10 miles, it was easier to choose to stay out there.

The miles are very clearly marked at 16.5 just before the parking lot, and I took no shortcuts, so it looks like something is off or I have some gps rounding error that is losing two! miles.

My bike handling, lackluster to begin with, really began to fade at 1:55 or so, which probably accounted for the very minor crash at the 15.5 mile mark, as I managed to put the handlebars and seat on opposite sites of the same tree trunk.

C • Highland Rocks! 2

I have no reason to doubt the trail markers, so I will add in two miles to match.

It is done.

I have theorized that it was possible.

To hike the entire 17.5 mile Potawatomi Trail in Pinckney Rec.

And I theorized about six hours to do it.

We came in well under. I think under five hours is possible, but not with the heat.

Storms threatened to make it a quite exciting undertaking, but the rain stopped before Jeff picked me up. It just very, very hot. And very muggy. And exceedingly buggy.

Apparently I have some reaction to deer fly bites. Despite hosing myself in Cutter, they still got me. One nipped my lip, and that swelled up a bit. My wrist also swelled from a bite. And I think I missed spraying the back of my left shoulder as that was chewed up by the end.

Thankfully after four hours, just as the fatigue and heat started to pile up, the bugs died down a bit from their usual two dozen per hiker.

We avoided all shortcut temptations as we approached the finish. And made it, hoo ah!

Then a refreshing dip in the lake, then onward to home. Where I find out dear wife has a flat on the west side of the state. Back to life I guess!

C • Your mileage is building up... 7

Biked down Nollar to Olson Park, then did as much single track as I found for a lap, then repeated a section to do the teeter totter I missed the first time around. Trails are somewhat confusing.

If you ignore that I just biked a marathon slower than the fastest runners run, it was a great ride. I got within three meters of a doe and two fawns, as they tried to run away from me. I could keep up on the trail, but then they bailed off into the woods. And a red wing blackbird actually clawed my helmet to defend its nest.

I did not realize Sutton was paved all the way between Pontiac Trail and North Territorial. Not much of a shoulder, but maybe it's low traffic. Hard to judge today, as everything was low traffic, even M14 from my view when biking over.

C • I've never seen much traffi... 3

I was thinking about going five miles. After a quarter mile, the heavens opened up. I might have continued, but the lightning was heavy.

Make up for my earlier attempt. Probably should do more, but the morning is getting away from me.

I always forget to start the Garmin. So we made it almost a mile, I wager. Something like that anyways. I should just start it early and edit it.

Awesome AR training ride with Cooper. Met at the Kent Lake beach. He forgot his running shoes - excellent given the insanely high temps. I said I was interesting in revisiting the "badlands" that I only got a taste of at a past December Chill, so we rode the main road out, jumped on Yellow at Kensington Road, then took that to the parking lot, jumped on Blue, bailed off blue and looped the Badlands.

This would be a bloody spectacular orienteering area. All grassy/sandy, with just a handful of shrubs and trees, but you could hide flags on small hills, ridges, down by tiny ponds...oh I want to orienteer here soooooo bad.

Then rode a little blue, jumped off on a two track, took the road out to the tracks, took blue to yellow, then the main park road, overshooting the cars to round out the ~hour and a half. Great workout, fun exploration, excellent company!

Then we jumped in Kent Lake to cool off. Great night!

C • I can start on the base map... 3

Easy row with the last two Ringers. Shame they didn't wrap it up a little more, since it is cancelled. :( It was fun once it got going.