By Keith Vogelsang
Saturday, May 2, 2009
The weather forecast going into the weekend for the ride to Cedar Bluff
Nature Preserve looked gloomy. Rain storms throughout the week kept
most of us off our bikes, and more rain was imminent, according to the
latest forecasts. But as quickly as storms form, they can also break
up, and we were greeted Saturday morning with clear skies, calm winds,
and cool temperatures. Nineteen riders gathered at Bryan Park, and our
wheels were rolling just after 10:00.
By the time we crossed Highway 37 to get out of town, we were down to
18 riders, as Glenn Berger developed a flat. Neither Glenn nor anyone
else had a spare tube compatible with his particular tire and rim
combination, so he phoned home for a ride while the rest of us
continued on.
We made our way toward Ketcham Road, where we were expecting to
encounter a dog or two. And we did. Fortunately, we had Stacy Felton on
the ride with us, and she schooled us in the finer techniques of dog
management. The dogs also appeared to learn important lessons, as
evidenced by their confused expressions. Other notable wildlife sitings
include a pileated woodpecker that flew across my path shortly after
turning onto Ketcham, and there was a second hand report that Stan
Ellis saw a squirrel, although as of this writing, that has not been
confirmed.
We regrouped at the entrance to Cedar Bluff Nature Preserve, where
about half a dozen excited dogs had brought their humans for a hike.
Klaus Rothe used the opportunity to take more pictures and also made a
digital recording of Stacy demonstrating her high-decibel dog control
methods. Look for a link to this recording to appear on the new BBC
website (coming soon!).
At this point, about half the riders had decided to extend their route
by about 10 miles. The group split in half at the intersection of
Popcorn and Ketcham. The “extra miles” group headed west on Popcorn and
then planned to make their way back toward Judah. Those of us staying
on the scheduled route headed toward Harrodsburg, and made our way back
toward town on Old 37. The long climb north on Old 37 spread us out
considerably, but all of us eventually made our way home. All told, a
great day and an enjoyable ride. Special thanks to Klaus Rothe for his
artistic photo contributions.
