Thirty miles of beautiful riding and then a few in the rain...

It's twins! Alright, I don't know if they're really twins but they're certainly a well-matched pair. They live on an Amish farm in Warwick Township and I can't say that I've ever seen them pulling a buggy or doing any kind of farm work or even being ridden around, so I can't imagine what their function is. I doubt they're just pets, though.

I don't think I've mentioned that I'm going to be riding Bike Freedom Valley on June 20th. It's a non-competitive bike ride in Philadelphia with the Bicycle Coalition of Greater Philadelphia. You can choose from a number of different routes, and I've chosen the 35-mile ride from Villanova to Spring Hill and back. To that end, I've been trying to up my daily miles in preparation.

On Monday I rode 22 miles in the morning and then another 8 in the evening. It was a gorgeous day for a bike ride! Sunny, dry, relatively cool and a little breezy. I did the "Long Ears Loop" in the morning hoping to get some good shots of the baby mule, but he and his mom were nowhere to be seen. I did get some waves from the adorable little Amish girls in their black pinafores as I went by, though. They also have a stand selling strawberries and rhubarb so I'll have to make sure I bring some money with me for next time. Fresh strawberries right out of the strawberry patch are delicious!

I was obviously taken with this wheat field... at least I think it's wheat. I guess I'm going to have to do some research! What I loved about this field is that it looked so soft. I didn't actually touch it, though, so I'm not sure. I tried to get a good close up of at least one stalk, but it was too windy to get a decent one.

Tuesday I was in Delaware most of the day and so didn't get a chance to ride at all. Yesterday I decided to try and do the Spooky House Ride before the rain got here. Of course I was about halfway done when it started coming down; I was soaked by the time I got home! I'm going to have to spend some time cleaning my bike today because it's covered in mud splashes and worm bits-- but I can say with confidence that my new bike rack did an excellent job of keeping that stuff off of ME, lol.

I did stop to take a picture of these wild roses despite the water. They look like they're about done and I was afraid the rain would knock all the petals off before I get back own this way again.

Unfortunately the Wednesday night ride with the bike club was rained out, too. I can only make the bike club rides when I don't have work in the evening, so it was disappointing to have no work and no bike ride! Especially when it's an ice cream ride...

Here's to next Wednesday then!