Gaining Ground ~

 A riding goal for going on two years now - has been to ride the Wabash from Silver City to Malvern & back -  either to exceed or match my best time pre-accident.  July 22, 2020 was my best trip, riding Speedy, my Electra Townie.  It's still early in the season & with the weather it's been hard to get any consistant riding.

Southbound~

I honestly didn't even know if I'd be up to making the round-trip yet this season.  Otober 6th of 2021 was the last time I rode the full length of this section of the trail.  It seemed like forever ago.  

Three-miles south of Silver City

My original plan was just to ride to the trestle & turn back.  Well...  I got to the trestle & decided I'd go on to the Hwy 34 underpass.  It was a beautiful day, temperatures in the low 70's.  The only drawback, was the gusting wind.

New clear-cut & the Trestle ahead~

At the underpass I knew my goal was only a couple miles farther.  The last mile of that is concrete.  Smokey is so much easier to ride, more comfortable & faster than the Trek Verve.  I decided to buck up & go the distance.

Malvern~

Arriving in Malvern, I took a short break at the depot.  The wind wasn't letting up.  It had been mostly at my back going south, so I knew I'd be riding into it on the return.

Someone's idea of "art" on the bridge :-(

Fully committed now, I started the ride back.  I did better than I expected.  I was just a short distance from town when I saw a man walking a golden lab off-leash toward me.  As I got closer, the dog came at me barking & circled behind me.  Next, he came up my right side & tried to grab my foot off the pedal. 

The owner was yelling;  "Milo, MILO!!!" at the dog to no avail.  By now, the dog had cut in front of me & I had to stop.  The owner yelled at me;  "Just keep riding!"  I was furious!  The dog backed off when I stopped & confronted it.  I turned to the owner & yelled;  "I would have kept riding if your dog was on a LEASH!" I hope I don't run into this person again...  My closest encounter with a dog in years & one I don't want to repeat! 

I was tired by the time I reached Silver City.  My leg was sore, but not as sore!  When I downloaded my stats, this ride was 2.7 mph faster than my October 2021 ride & I'm within 1.2 mph of reaching my goal!