Green Belt Ramble

Fall going into Winter. This is the time of year I've always been drawn to mountain biking. Part of the reason for that is because for the better part of two decades around here you just did not go in the woods from around mid-June until the first frost. That was because of the weeds and mosquitoes. 

But these days there is a soft trails group and the City of Waterloo does a lot better job maintaining the Green Belt. That makes Summer time mountain biking a possibility, and of course, this year it was so hot and dry that weeds and insects were almost nothing to bother about. 

So, the point here is that I usually could not scratch the MTB itch until late September at the earliest. Maybe that is why I feel the pull of the knobbies around this time to go for a ride into the Green Belt. That and the fact that I've had a steady dose of gravel for a long time and a change in scenery was overdue. Maybe.....

The weather went very chilly for several days and we had some high winds so that knocked down a majority of the leaves in the woods, but there was still some beauty and still some leaves in the trees yet. A thick carpet of leaves was found in many spots on the single track, but they were dry enough that slipping and sliding was of no concern.

Black Hawk Creek meanders amongst big sand bars now that it is so low.

You generally cannot see the rapids during times of normal river levels

Black Hawk Creek is sad. This drought has really hit the area hard and the water level of this creek is alarming. With the weather people calling for a strong El Niño Winter, it doesn't bode well for more water here.

But it is good for riding single track and there was not one hint of mud or slimy dirt, like there often is, out there on this particular afternoon.  Even the places where loose sandy patches exist were packed and easily ridden. 

These short days make for long shadows.

A moody sky shrouds the Sun over the Green Belt Lake.

This was a ride also to help me finish up with a couple of reviews I am doing on some components. (Coming to the blog here soon) So, it was nice to get that wrapped up as well. Besides that I was out for two hours and there wasn't another soul to be seen out there. Of course, it was Friday afternoon and maybe that had a little to do with it! 

I hope to roll more gravel soon, but the mountain biking retreat has been a nice change of pace of late.