I Was Very Excited…

… to take DASH out for a ride today on the unpaved section of the M0NTOUR TRA1L.  It’s been cooler the past two days, especially in the mornings.  The humidity has been down and I know the trail in this section is tree-lined.  I figured I’d be fine in the afternoon.

I wasn’t out for a LONG RIDE LIKE LAST WEEK, just 5-6 miles.

Wow.  It was an amazing afternoon.  It was easy to put my bike rack on the V*W and after adding a little air to the tires, I was ready to head out.

I love how easy it’s been to load DASH on the V*W.  I feel secure with the bike rack and it’s very sturdy.

I entered the trail at Ven1ce access point on Route 980 just up the hill from Route 50.  This section is easy for me to get to from home as well as which way to ride/run the trail.  I can cross the street to TAKE THE TRA1L TOWARDS IMPER1AL or BACK TOWARDS HENDERSONVILLE like I did today.

Only once was I completely creeped out.  There’s a tunnel called NAT1ONAL TUNNEL – while it wasn’t long, it has a bend and you can’t see from one end to the other.  Even though there are glow strips along the walls, is definitely PITCH BLACK in the middle section.

It was completely unexpected and I was a little weirded out because it was dark and I was alone:

I was fine, but it was creepy. I just kept my eyes ahead of me and literally looked for the LIGHT at the end of the tunnel.

All in all – AN EXCELLENT NEAR-SEVEN MILE RIDE.  I look forward to doing it again soon!!