A Perfect Ten!

 Glorious, simply glorious day!  So very welcome after days of biting cold & blowing winds.  Still in the month of February, the ice on the lake is already melting & open water appearing!  

Karen invited me to a mutual birthday lunch yesterday at her favorite Chinese restaurant in Omaha!  All I can say, is it was very, very good!  I had some calories to burn!   It had already been two weeks since I'd been out riding & it seemed like forever.  Especially after the last muddy ride on the Wabash.

Ready to hit the trail~

Lake Manawa was busier than I've seen it so far this year & no wonder!  Everyone I passed was in such a good mood!  Smiles everywhere!  At first, I was just going to make the circuit of the lake, but after just a couple miles, I was enjoying myself so much, I decided to go out & ride the connector trail to the Wabash.  It had been closed due to the railroad working on this section of rail.  Now though, it's open & nice all the way through.

Going under!

Without the wind & without any effort at all, Smokey was cruising along at 11 mph.  Have I said how much I'm enjoying this bike?  Going under seemed about the same, I don't think anything was done on the trail.

Trail underpass~

I rode all the way to the bridge.  From there, it's along the side of the road to the parking lot near Tastee Treet.  Once Tastee Treat is open again, I'll go the rest of the way :-)

Mosquito Creek, thawed~

As cold as we've been, I was surprised to see the creek running & ice almost gone!  I stopped for this photo & had two other riders pass me, one kindly asked if everything was ok.  I think we were all more than ready for a sunshine, warm & windless day!

The underpass~

Heading back the way we'd come~ There are a couple good short hills on this section.  Smokey's gears are so nice, I hardly knew I'd gone up them.  I even rode through the old campground at the north end of the lake.  The road access has been blocked off by debris to keep cars out but was easy to ride around.  

The long west side~

I'd reached this point when Butch texted.  His drive for the day was done.  He & Steve were enjoying pot roast, potatoes & carrots!  I think Butch will miss Steve's cooking!  

Across the Indian creek bridge & back into the park, I kept riding past where I'd parked the Explorer.  I'd seen a sign on my way out that looked like another trail to the lake.  

New to me trail to the Lake

It was!  Actually, the prettiest trail in the park, I think.  As I followed it, I kept hoping I'd have a nice lake view at the end.  It didn't disappoint!  I came out at a picnic area on the south side of the lake.

Smokey at the water~

It was just beautiful, with the open water making waves of the ice as it was melting.  I wished Butch had been along.  From here, I turned back & by the time I'd reached the Explorer had covered just over fifteen miles, my longest ride in forever.

My route~

I'd been out two-hours & enjoyed it very so much!  Now I've found those miles, I plan to take advantage of the park more often, at least until the Wabash is rideable again.  With the possibility of snow this coming week, it will be a while yet.