Sunday Morning

I got out for an early morning ride on Sunday. I like early morning rides, but they're just too early for me in general.

Due to our Sunday plans, early was the time I'd get. 

I rode through the fog and dark, heading up to Chip Ross from Timberhill. I stopped near the top of the climb for some photos (I could have continued climbing).

Watching the sun rise and moon set

Then I scooted over to Dan's trail, descended into the fog again, and then began slogging up Dan's trail to the top of Dimple Hill. 

Fog thinning out a bit, between Lower and Upper Dan's

After not biking much for the past two months, I got out three times this past week - and each ride ended with riding down The Face (crazy steep - 0.3 miles at 29% grade - too steep to walk). 

Looking down "The Cheek"

So here I was, at the top for a fourth time. I took a couple of photos of the fog blanketing Corvallis, and I dropped down a different trail (The Cheek, if you will).

Sunrise

I used to climb this trail weekly when I took Hazel on walks to Oak Creek, but it has some poison oak, so I tend to avoid it. But right now the conditions are perfect - the poison oak has died off for the season, and the trail isn't muddy yet. Even better, a huge tree blocking the road had been removed, and a new entrance to some trails opened up a quarter mile early.  This all resulted in almost a continuous single track experience from the top of Dimple Hill to the gate at Oak Creek. Simply awesome. 

I made it home in time to help Simone finish breakfast as Mary headed off to some training.