Friday, April 30, 2010

Stare Down with a Barred Owl

Was home from an after school video shoot with my students with plenty of daylight left and temps still around 70 degrees, which was sweet. I headed out to the powerline trails to do some exploring on the mountain bike.

The powerline trails are challenging to ride, due to the steep drops and climbs. Some are smooth enough you can fly down pretty easily, but some are pretty rocky and require some maneuvering. Really fun to ride.

At one stretch, the main trail goes off the powerlines and into the woods. Soon afterwards, a large bird perched low swooped out about 10 feet in front of me and up into a nearby branch, and saw it was a barred owl. I put on the brakes, and we stared at each other for a good 30 seconds before he took off further into the woods. So cool to look a creature like that right in the eye, especially for a long period of time.

Found the trail that led back to the powerlines, which I hadn't been on before. Once back at the powerlines, I saw a trail on the other side and a snowmobile trail sign said it led to Alfred, the town just south of where I live. Probably not too far off, will have to explore that soon, but heading back the way I came would give me the mileage I was going for and also a sure way home, so I did just that.

Mountain biked 9.5 miles @ 7.7 mph/avg (19.4 mph/max).
Trails, some technical sections.
Very hilly.
Around 70 degrees, sunny.
Shorts, short sleeved shirt.

1 comment:

Scout said...

Very cool indeed!