Last Thursday, five of us at work embarked on an adventure through downtown Lexington and out the Legacy Trail for some good times biking and camping. Angie was out of town and the grandparents were watching our three kiddos. That meant I was craving something more than manly movies from Redbox. This was exactly what I needed.
Typical with this type of thing, we left much later than anticipated. The plan was to scoot out of work a bit early. What actually happened? We left well after work was over. It was no big deal though. It gave us time to perfect our plan.
Most of the cargo was on my Xtracycle or being pulled in the kid trailer. The other guys shared responsibility of pulling the cargo inside... which we referred to as "Baby Ethan." When you're weaving in and out of busy traffic with a child carrier and calling it Ethan, you're bound to upset some overprotective grandma in her SUV.
The downtown section wasn't that bad at all. They're used to seeing bikes and it was over pretty quickly. Once we hit the trail, it was smooth sailing. Look how chill Justin looks in the above picture. Actually, Justin always looks that way. Man, Justin is cool.
This is Dan. He's smiling because he's happy. He's also smiling because this was his longest bike ride ever. You'd be smiling, too.
The campground was great. They let us crash on one site though the rules stated that we needed two. And we had lots of tree cover. At this point, the weather had settled in the mid 60's. It was perfect camping atmosphere.
The guys made fun of me for getting excited over my reflective sidewalls. To be honest, I don't ever see them when I'm on the bike. Seeing them from a distance got me all jazzed up.
Night time was fire, hotdogs, ramen noodles and great conversation. No complaints from me. Weather was so nice, we slept with the fly off of the tent.
Justin's tent. I actually slept in here with him. My tent was a bit longer, so Jeff (who's a tall glass of water) slept in mine.
The morning went fast. We woke up, packed up our stuff and left. Before I knew it I was back home. But not for long...
I pulled the bike in the garage, grabbed a snack, and loaded the kayak on top of the Subaru for a little more adventure. Like I said earlier, when the wife and kids are occupied, I wanted to suck the most out of my time. My buddy, Mike, met me at work and we headed to Elkhorn River.
Does it look like I'm enjoying myself?
What a great time. In exactly 24 hours I did nearly 60 miles of loaded bike riding, camping with some guys and three hours of paddling and fishing. I seriously can't think of a better way to spend my time when I have the opportunity like this. I love spending time with the kids. But when no one is home, I'll be doing this again.
Get out there.
