Glen Cunningham Lake with Butch & Finn ~

 Butch arrived home last Friday - several days earlier than planned.  He received a jury summons requiring him to be on call for the entire month of December.  Last time, he was excused due to his occupation, but not this time. Driving OTR, it's not possible to check in daily to see if he's required to report, since he's constantly on the road. He filed a second request to be excused, mentioning this would result in the loss of an entire month's income. The second response from the judge reduced his length of service to a week.  Rather than have Maverick sit in our driveway for the week - Butch dropped the truck at Nationwide for its 30,000-mile scheduled maintenance.

A week at home so seldom happens! To date Butch hasn't been required to report.  We couldn't make our planned trip, but he's been busy here.  After checking our new furnace installation, Butch decided to demo the utility closet & replace the two solid doors with vented bifold.  

Butch & Finn - ready to ride!

Our streak of sunshine days has been a rare gift for the month of December.  The weather report seemed to change daily.  My plan was for the two of us to get in a ride!  As I looked ahead to see which day, or days would be warm without the winds gusting 25 mph. - today was the day!

Butch & Finn on the bridge~

We hadn't ridden at Glen Cunningham since September of 2022!  I couldn't believe it had been so long.  Finn has only ridden in his little cart on the Wabash, so riding on the smooth surface trails at the lake would be a much easier ride.  Once Butch had his cart ready - he jumped right in!

Looking across the south end of the lake~

The lake was about 85% frozen, just a few spots of open water.  Only a few people were out walking, a quiet day before the holiday arrives.

Finn in his cart~

Finn was really enjoying the ride.  We passed a Scotty & a Westy too!  One of the rear reflectors came off Finn's cart.  Thankfully we found it in the back of the Bronco.  We'll be reinforcing the attachment before we take it out again.

Canadian Geese~

It's been reported at Green Valley State Park outside Creston, that as many as sixty Geese have been found dead from bird flu.  This flock looked fine & we saw several larger groups flying overhead on our way home.

On the trail~

I was cold enough from the breeze coming off the ice - I had on two layers & my warm headband.  My husband was in a T-shirt!  He'd brought a jacket but insisted he didn't need it.  Finn faced forward most of the ride, just turning around now & then to be sure I was still following!

Taking a break~

We crossed the bridge at the north end of the lake before stopping again.  It was only just after 2 p.m., but if you were going by the sun, you'd have thought it was 4 p.m. or later.

At the north end of the lake~

This time of year, the air is so fresh.  We had just a bit of rain last week, which melted the last of the little snow we'd received November 29th.

Crossing the dam~

Taking our time & stopping now & then, we took just over an hour to ride the 6.5 miles around the lake.  With just a latte & cookie for breakfast, an early dinner sounded good!  With Christmas right around the corner, tomorrow I'll be busy baking pies & wishing the kids were close enough to enjoy the holidays with us~

Back to the Lake~

Counting today, I managed to ride four times in January.  More surprising, two of those were on the Wabash.  With the weather's up & down temperatures & snow from the last storm still melting, the trail would be too soft to ride.  It's a bit of a drive, to Lake Manawa but worth it to have miles of nice trail surface & be out in the sunshine.  The day did still have the look of winter though, as the cloud cover increased.  Our high was 60.

On the trail~

Last year, my first ride was in March & I'd spent the winter months recovering from my injury.  This year, I feel special, being able to take advantage of the warmer days that cropped up every week or so.  

This bike is such a pleasure to ride!  I can't believe I struggled as long as I did with the Verve.  

Along the east side~ 

In the few places where the trees line the trail, I enjoy the view of winter woods.  There were a couple places where the snow had melted enough to form small ponds in the low spots.  A couple I could circumnavigate, but others I rode through.  Fenders do come in handy!

Way to the Wabash Connection~

I turned east, toward the Wabash, hoping to see if the trail had been reopened.  The signs were off to the side & as I watched, two bikes came toward me.  I asked & was told the underpass was open.  I decided I'd save those extra miles for another day.

Canadian Geese on the golf course~

The geese were out in large numbers on the golf course.  A huge flock enjoying such warm weather before the next round of cold.

The frozen lake~

My Garmin hadn't fully charged, so I just made one circuit around & returned to the Explorer at seven miles.  I'd gotten a later start than I'd planned.  With the cloud cover moving in, the day was cooling down.  Tomorrow our temperatures are going to drop again, low teens for the next few days.  Time to enjoy a warm house!