July 23rd (Morning)

I had a disappointing start to my morning… I’ve managed to gain 2 pounds this week (I’m back up to 230 now). What’s with that? Obviously I’ve not been watching my food intake like I should be, and this obviously has a big effect. So, now I’m going to have to be back into the frame of mind of watching everything I eat again…

A nice 16° and sunshine. The ride was good, but almost started off on the wrong foot… I came up the first hill just out of Juniper and a Weimaraner came bounding up towards me, not looking too friendly. However, not having any bad experiences with dogs yet, I slowed down, stayed calm and talked to the dog. He turned, and ran back to his owners (two older ladies) who could not get him to come to them completely (stayed just out of their reach). As I pulled up to them, I stopped to ask what kind of dog this was (I had seen him before, on Frolek’s land, about 1 month ago and couldn’t figure it out). We talked for about 2 minutes, and the lady mentioned that the dog had been known to go after cyclists, and did he come after me? I told her no, he had just came up and then ran off (Note: You would think if this was the case, she would’ve grabbed him by this time, or even not trusted him off leash due to the amount of cyclists on this trail, but hey, I’m thinking way too much like common sense here ). Anyways, I said good bye and started to pedal off which obviously sparked the crazy retard (the dog) who barked, lunged and snapped at my leg, even leaving a small bite mark. The lady managed to grab him at that point, so I kept going not saying anything and not really computing what had just happened. Now that I think back on it, it kind of ticks me off. I mean, if she knows he’s bad with cyclists, why have him off leash on trails where cyclists are known to be in numbers? If he’s going to be off leash, why let him be that far away? Whatever, no harm done this time, except now I’ll probably have a bit more apprehension with the next dog, which is probably not a good thing when dealing with dogs like this one. Also, what if the next cyclist he encounters actually gets bit even worse? I suppose I should’ve stopped again and said something, but I’m just not bright enough in those situations to think of the right thing to do right away…

Check out the blood gushing from this gaping wound… Yeah, so like I said, it was a “small bite mark”, but a bit mark nonetheless and that still kind of makes me mad!

The rest of the ride was good. About half way across Frolek’s land, I came around a corner and chased a deer (who ran rather nonchalantly at first) along my trail till she finally decided she’d had enough and bounded away up the hillside. I made the hill down into Peterson’s Creek again, and through the creek, but couldn’t make it up the bank on the other side this morning. I did, however, proceed to make the climb up out of the valley, and even made it through both sandy sections (they were still slightly damp from the rain, meaning more control and traction). I felt pretty tired again, but still was able to keep up a decent pace I think. I took the trail at the end of Howe road again, not sure what to call this trail, maybe Two Peaks? Or how about my own little Peak 2 Peak trail? I like that… Anyways, it was fun. A bit muddy and some places was a tad torn up from the rain yesterday. Still some brute climbing on that trail, but I really enjoy it as a good end to my ride. Over all, a good time, same speeds as my other good days, so I’m glad for that on a Friday for sure. Another solid week of riding! Oh, and to top it all off, this afternoon Corrie and I are going for a ride around Kenna Cartwright park, so that will be an excellent way to finish off this week. Pictures and updates on that ride as soon as I can.