Dove Creek

Memorial Day Ride

Liz Rappe' was not available so we broke from the tradition of riding from her house and then returning for a picnic, swimming in the river, and kayaking. Instead, Jerry and Cindy Middleton invited us to go on a ride through the Dove Creek subdivision close to their house.
Lined up for the ride are: Beth (who joined us from Austin), David and Donna Durbin, Jack Hyde, Rick Ogan, Robbie Wilson, Jerry and Cindy Middleton, and Roy Jones. Christine volunteered to take the group shot.

Christine and Robbie coasting along on our relaxed ride.

Despite our being on the Edwards Plateau, it is nearly impossible to find a route that doesn't have some hills. Upcoming was the first of our 7% hills. (Sorry Jerry, I like to know the grade of a hill.)

All made it up the hill easily.

And it was even easier to go down the hill.

Soon it was time to turn off into the subdivision.

Lots of nice homes decorated by surrounding flowers.

Jerry leading the flock.

No one is in a hurry.

We came upon ladies out for a stroll on their horses. They admitted they had the easier ride.

But on a horse, you don't get to roll down a hill. Note to Jerry: The hill we just went up was an 8%. Just thought you would like to know.

The rest of the hills were just 4-6%. At the leisurely pace we were going, none of the hills was tiring.

One of the many small "speed bumps" coming up.

For most of the ride, Jerry (right) led and Cindy (left) was sweep. No one left behind.

At one of our breaks, Christine found some flowers she liked.

And then back to ride.

Luckily, the gate wasn't open. We had several encounters with dogs out in the country but no one was bitten.

The Dove Creek crossing had water this year adding to the ride experience. Jack lead the way testing the water. He didn't fall so we all had a try at it. 

 Donna wasn't sure as there was moss and algae on the road.

 Leave it to Christine to plow fearlessly through the water.

 Followed by David.

 As a mountain biker, Rick is used to rugged conditions.

 Beth makes it through although with wet feet.

 Not too far from the river, Cindy heard a firecracker go off. One more tire ruined.

 As no one had a spare tire, Cindy insisted on just pushing her bike. We were fairly near her house, so it wasn't as if we totally abandoned her, although she did look lonely as we were leaving.

 Decision point. We could turn right and go to the ghost town of Tankersley.

 Since we had just been to Tankersley on Saturday, we turned left.

 The decision did not seen to upset Jack.

 Nor Rick and Donna.

 However, when we got back to our starting point of Knickerbocker, Jerry told us of a small loop just outside of "town". The remainder of us hadn't ridden that before, so we took off on a new trail.

 Other than going downhill, one of the best parts of a ride--visiting afterward.

 Beth and Jerry visiting. Not sure what Rick was doing.

 What's wrong with this picture? A clown or a nerd? Hopefully neither. One may remember that I lost a cleat on the Real Ale Ride. I had to order a set from a local bike shop and they hadn't arrived yet. So in the meantime, I used an old pedal on the left crank. So? I have been using Speedplay Frogs but the old pedals were SPD. SO? My old shoes still had the SPD cleats, therefore instead of changing out both pedals, I use the Frog on one side and the SPD on the other. Except for not being stylish, it is working out fine.

And who cares as long as the ride is a great one. Beth expressed it all for me.