biking - dark blue bike1:16:37 [2] 12.27 mi (6:15 / mi) +396ft6:04 / mi weight:137.5lbs
On the old "roads" on the north side of Quabbin again, lots of stops again. A nice day. No sun, but generally benign, mid 40s and no wind. Sightings included three otters, a porcupine, an osprey (should already be heading south), and a flock of snow buntings (harbinger of what's coming).
But for sheer entertainment, none matched the sighting on Friday. I hadn't been going very long when some movement in the brush by the side of the road caught my eye. A ruffed grouse. You hear them much more often than see them, so normally this guy would have already skedaddled, but it seemed quite happy hanging about 5 yards from me, looking for snacks in the brush.
I stayed a few minutes, pretty cool.
About an hour and a half later I was passing back through the same area. I saw a thrush, stopped, caught glimpses of it as it moved a couple of times, then lost it. As I was still looking, I heard a noise, looked down, and there was the grouse about 2 feet from my front wheel.
Was it lonely? Or just an extrovert? Or psychotic? It certainly wasn't leaving. Well, might as well take advantage of the situation. First a video --
Then tried for a selfie, successfully so in the sense that bird, bike, and me are all in the same photo, but not really up to my usual high standard. Just need more practice.
1 PM
run/hike40:04 [3] 2.2 mi (18:13 / mi) +218ft16:39 / mi
Second training for the day. Phil wanted to do another summit, Horse Mountain in Hatfield, and it seemed tame enough and short enough that I might be able to manage it. So off we went.
Just perfect. Didn't get shot at or yelled at, even passed a sign that said hikers were welcome. Didn't get lost. Didn't fall. Ran in bits and pieces and it wasn't awful. We made it to the top despite the fact that we had forgotten to bring crampons, ice axes, ropes, oxygen bottles, or (for Phil at least) a map.
And then we made it back too. A little more running because it was now downhill. No video, because two old guys doing something that is sort of like running is not worth spending a bunch of electrons on. But still, some running.
The only problem is that Phil thinks I am now on the way back. He already thinks he is on the way back. So pretty soon we will be tearing through the woods again, just like we used. Hmmm, nope, not gonna happen.
But, for one day at least, it was really fun getting out with him for this bit of an adventure. It's been a while.