Thursday, after a cozy Wednesday of staying inside and away from the rain that fell all day, we rode the Falling Waters Trail. The Falling Waters Trail is a rail-trail in southern Michigan that goes from Jackson to Concord. It is 10.5 miles long and I thought it was one of the nicest trails we have ridden. Tom thought it was boring, but he likes hills and curves.
The Falling Waters Trail is built on the bed of the old Michigan Central Railroad which ran between Detroit and St. Joseph, Michigan. It is a lovely, long, flat trail paved in asphalt that runs along farmlands and through several parks. The most interesting part is the raised causeway that runs through the middle of Lime Lake. The trail is very well marked, with road signs at all the intersections. There were several lakes, lots of birds, and tons of wildflowers along the route.
On Friday we rode the Alum Creek Trail South and it was 93 degrees. On Monday we rode the B&0 Trail from Lexington to Bellville and it was 73 degrees (perfect riding temperature). Thursday we rode the Falling Waters Trail and it was 53 degrees. I don’t think I’m liking this trend! I realized early this morning that I couldn’t ride in my blue jeans (women bikers understand the center seam problem) and my bike shorts would be too cool for the weather. Also, my ears would get cold and be painful if I rode for any distance with the cold wind. This was the first time it had occurred to me that I am a warm weather biker. Tom has always ridden all year round, but I have begged off when it got too cold for shorts.
Not today! I wanted to get out in the cooler fall air and enjoy the ride, but we had to stop at a bike shop first. I found one called “On Two Wheels” in Jackson that was one of the best bike shops we have been in. It wasn’t too big and the guys there really knew their stuff without being intimidating. I got some bike pants and a headband for over my ears. With these additions, I was warm enough on the ride. Any colder, though, and I might still beg off riding.
We really enjoyed the ride on Falling Waters Trail. It was a good way to acclimate to the fall weather and enjoy the surrounding countryside. My Runtastic app says that we rode 21 miles in 1 hour and 19 minutes, at an average speed of 16.2 miles per hour. I think I pedaled faster to get warm! I burned 898 calories which would be enough for ice cream, but it was too cold, so I had a cookie at Subway after my sandwich.