The Greenway

I decided today would be a good day to loop the Western Greenway. The weather was pleasant and I needed a good ride to clear my head. I set out on what I think of as the reverse loop. I usually head from my house, past Our Ladies, behind the soccer fields, and then across to the big woods. Today, I went down towards the Y, the high school, and out to the Payne Estate.

The section from my house down to the high school is a tricky ride. It is mostly downhill, so it is not physically taxing. However, it is very rocky and twisty. Riding it is sort of like the old joke about the roller coaster; I was scared the whole time, but loved it. It is still early in the season so I am still getting my legs under me and my nerve up. I probably took things too slow which probably made it harder to navigate.

Swinging up past the high school and into the Payne Estate is a nice climb. Not too steep or technical. The only real issue is that I don't know the trail and spent a lot of time looking for the signs.

The ride down Forest St. is pretty boring. Lock the front forks and shift into a nice cruising gear....

Once back in the woods, I headed around the water tower hill and out to rock meadow. I made sure to take a bunch of the side trails on the way down.

The loop around rock meadow is always a nice gentle ride. The only hard part was having to keep pulling up my mask. It is still cool enough that my glasses fog up when I keep it on.

Once across the bridge and back into the woods I went the opposite way back to the parkway as I took on the way in. Again I looked for as many side trails as I could. It was a good time.

The other side of the parkway is a familiar ride for me although going backwards does change it up.

I forgot how challenging the ride up from Our Lady's is when going up hill. It was made even more difficult because there were a lot of hikers out on that section of trail. Momentum is your friend...

The Greenway is a great resource and I am lucky to have such easy access to it.

Maybe next time I'll go the right way round.