Strava details here. This ride had everything! Speed, a few climbs (well, overpasses anyway!), headwinds - even danger in the form of a large & rather mean dog deep in redneck-country who gave chase but I was able to channel my inner Mark Cavendish and out-sprinted the mangy mutt - it was pretty fast, I'll give it that - that little spike in watts & speed just after the 5-mile mark is where that happened. As a side note, 4 out of 5 houses in these remote areas along this ride had "Beware of Dog" signs but, except for the one where that dog chased me - I should add that house did NOT have a "Beware of Dog" sign, either! - all were fenced-in yards with the gates closed (well, a few were open but I didn't see any dogs in those yards). One thing to remember riding in these remote areas is to always be alert - probably better also to ride in at least a small group - I was alone, of course - strength in numbers! Still, you're in "their" territory, on "their" street, so you have to almost know to ride on those streets with that little bit of risk in mind if you're going to ride them, and show due respect for the residents there (you don't have to like them, but again you are riding through their neighborhood so a little respect always is helpful). Since I know there's at least one house in that area whose owner doesn't give a flying fuck about controlling his fleabag (or at least keeping it on a leash if his property isn't fenced), I'll just avoid that street from now on... I pretty much mark on my ride-maps where the bad dogs are, based on past encounters, and use alternate, safer routes where possible. This wasn't the first time I had to "race" a dog, and it won't be the last... Anyway, moving on... the nice thing about the Jacksonville-Baldwin Rail Trail is that it is a dedicated bike-path and it is used by lots of people, whether riding, inline-skating, jogging or just going for a walk. This trail is perfect for riders training (especially time-trialing) as it is long & straight and mostly pan-flat with a few bumps here & there... as it does go through residential areas, with a few residential & country roads that intersect it, there are stop-signs where riders must yield to traffic (especially the easternmost 2-3 miles from the Imeson Road trail-head). Riders who are training are recommended to hit the Trail when it is least 'busiest' (i.e. weekend mornings) - today was no exception with several large family-groups on the Trail this morning. Comments are closed.
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