Water and a Parti Poodle

Today, on the 19th of January, we finally went out on the bikes.  Riding the bikes was the whole reason we came down here.  Between Covid, feeling bad, and a cold January, it didn't happen until today.  The sun was very bright, once again we forgot the sun screen with predictable results.  

It was 52 when we left, with some wind.  We wore cycling undershirts, a jersey, light weight arm and knee warmers, and jackets.  The plan had been to wear the vests, but it was cold enough to want jackets.  Last night it froze, so it's still a cold air mass.  We enjoyed the jackets up until the last mile or so, when we started getting a little warm.  Without them, it would have been an awful ride.

We left from the Rillito Downs parking lot and went right on the trail.  We should have crossed the river and then gone right, because we stranded ourselves on the path that has no river crossing bridges.  Please make a note of this.

This is the Rillito River, which most of the time is dry.  It's running!  It's not bank to bank, but it's a good amount of water.

Up river.

Down river.

At Camino de la Tierra the water is also running.  In defiance of the stupid motorist law, people were driving through it.  The pick up trucks were going really fast, putting a lot of water in the air.  This person went through slowly, and without making a rooster tail. 

We met a nice dog today, his name is Leo.  He's a Parti Poodle.  The Parti refers to the dog being part white.  This was the original form of the Poodle, but over time people bred them for solid colors.  AKC will not allow Partis to be shown in dog shows.  They're currently making a come back in popularity. Here is an article on the subject.

He's wearing Dad's hat.

He's a nice dog.  They have the nicest coat, they're soft.

Riding was good.  Spin bike does transfer to road bike.  Hike does not.  It was good to get out.