Tuesday, August 18, 2009

Monday Evening Mallard/Clark's Creek Ride with the Kid

Yesterday after work I rode home, loaded up the ailing Montero with Ms. Arcen's riding gear and mine then I headed out to the farm where she was working in the back barn on manure detail. She kicked the horse poop off of her boots and then we drove out to the Mallard/Clark's Creek Greenway system that we had not yet experienced. We parked at Mallard Creek Elementary and then started with a 2.5mile out/back on the Clark's Creek section. Once back to the intersection we then rode a shorter 1.5 out/back on N. Mallard Creek and then lastly the longer 3 mile out/ back on the S. Mallard Creek all the way to the Kirk Farm Fields. Ms. Arcen had a good time of it on this late day roughly 14 mile ride. She ran over a bright green snake on the Clark's Creek section that had her scared at first but then smiling with the recognition that this adventure was really happening. This was our first time to the Mallard/Clark and this Greenway system was very interesting indeed. Mainly forested paved paths with plenty of crushed gravel sections, bridges and all sorts of side paths of which we mostly left for future discovery. For the time we were out there I felt like we were on Euro Transfer. We stopped twice for a few minutes break each. First nature called the kid and then later on out past the I-85 underpass(the trail goes under a very loud I-85) Ms. Arcen noticed the foundation wall of some sort of historical building out in the woods that we investigated. If anyone happens to be reading this blog who knows anything about that structure please pass that data on to me. We returned to the car in just under 2 hours and headed home for a diner, that's right diner of fresh peaches, garden fresh cherry tomatoes, green beans and home made pasta and cheese with some squash in the mix.

The look on Ms. Arcen's face shortly after accidentally riding over a vibrant green snake.
Approaching one of the many under passes on the S. Mallard Creek section.
My favorite image of the actual ride.
Crushed gravel, slight incline.
Break time with creek access.
When nature beckons her it really does and she always acts with awareness on that call.
This Butta Fly came close more than once.
Getting dirty on the way out of the creek.
Discovery of a walled foundation.
Up the side wall
for the peaked roof.
The view from the top.
We walked a bit down a single track looking for deer.
Approaching the very audible I-85 on the way back in from Kirk Farm Fields.
This was a very long bike under pass with a strange tangible sensation of car vipers travelling 65-80mph North and South just above our heads.

2 comments:

James said...

Bill, glad you could make it up to the greenway in my neck of the woods. The foundation wall you refer to is the location of the old Hwy 29 bridge over Mallard Creek before the new four lane version was build nearby. The old road/bridge one existed until just before or after WW2. There was a matching one on the other side but was destroyed when the Cook-Out restaurant was built.

Billy Fehr said...

James,
Thanks for the data, I will let her know that it was a bridge not a building that we walked up. Neat spot of connecting Greenway for sure!