McGinnis Ferry

In an attempt to reprise yesterday's good ride, I rode out to Suwanee again today. This time I rode out across Buford Dam rather than down Hwy 20. Longer, but decidedly less stressful.

I spun a loop around Sims Lake on the way out. There were only 2 cars in the parking lot and only 4 people total in the entire park, aside from me.

Eventually I got to Old Downtown Suwanee...



...and searched high and low for a connector trail that was supposed to lead from there over to McGinnis Ferry Road. There was none to be found, so I just took Hwy 23 over and found it from the other end. Turns out if I'd just gone up the road a little further... Isn't it always like that?

I wanted to see how far the McGinnis Ferry Road trail went in either direction. It turns out, not very far, though it ties into a bike lane on Hwy 141 on the north end, so there's probably some kind of a loop I could make out of that some day. The trail just follows the road, on the north side, so if you're heading east, you can be flying downhill, facing traffic, which is moving at highway speeds. It's actually kind of unnerving. I mean, I know that I'm not out in the road, but some part of my brain just couldn't totally trust that.

Yesterday I'd seen a little trail around Berry Lake and today I spun a loop around it. It was really fun, with several dips and bridges. Scenic too.



But, alas, the sign at the OTHER end of the trail was disappointing.



Walking trail. I knew it was too fun to be legal. Why the sign at only one end? And why at the end opposite the greenway where bike traffic is most likely to come from? The world may never know.

Heading back, the weather started moving in.



Seems like that's the plan these days. Around 6 it starts raining, every day. When I was a kid that used to happen in Baton Rouge all summer. My teacher said all day the sun evaporates water and it rises and rises, then in the afternoon it cools off suddenly and the air can no longer hold the water vapor in solution. Clouds form and rain follows. I have no idea if that's true. In high school, I learned that the colder a gas is, the MORE it can hold in solution. Science. Even if it is true, then it must all be evaporating over Alabama and raining in Georgia, because all the storms in Georgia roll in from the west.

I ride in the rain all the time, but after watching nonstop lightning in the direction I needed to go for the entire time I waited at a crosswalk, I figured I'd call Kathryn to pick me up. Turned out she was on her way to the store, had noticed the weather, and had taken my car, just in case I called. She deserved multiple high-fives for such an impressive level of proactivity. Is that a word? Proactivity? Spell-check doesn't like it. Hmmm.

Today's ride wasn't as good as yesterday's, but it was still pretty good. My cardio has caught up with my legs. I can climb as hard as I want without fear of getting winded. My legs might give out, but my lungs wont, at least not easily. Much better than the other way around. Maybe I'll be able to hang on next weeks group ride. Maybe I won't suck at the next race.