My first outdoor ride today, so I had to capture the moment with a picture! The weather was decent....45 degrees with peaks of sunshine between the clouds. The winds were less than 5 mph so it made for a good ride. As soon as we got out on the highway, I was reminded that spinning bikes and real bikes are totally different in how they handle. I felt free....I was finally in control of my bike and my bike handling. Ted and I rode the "lake loop" which consists of riding around Tainter Lake into Colfax and coming back along the Red Cedar River (21 miles). It's my favorite route and I've memorized all the potholes and bad graveled corners!
Here's my Ruby Expert (Specialized) all decked out in pink! I love my bike and it's carbon frame. My former bike was a Trek 2300, which I also liked, but the frame was too heavy. I got the Ruby as a Mother's Day present last year. Now I just glide with the Ruby, plus hill climbs are enjoyable...really. (21/13.4/1:30)
Now, the rest of my day was really fun. Our son Chris has a friend from college that has a small business along with his brother. They make maple syrup. Chris is quickly learning the whole process of maple syrup making, so today he decided we should tap our one maple tree. As soon as he tapped the tree, wow, the sap just started flowing.
Chris tapped both sides of the tree....one side was flowing alittle faster than the other side. By night fall we had collected at least two gallons of sap from just one maple tree!
This picture was taken around noon today and the camp stove is still cooking tonight. Chris had about 14 gallons altogether to cook....his friend gave him sap to cook up, plus our sap from the one maple tree! Later today we took a drive out to the Chris's friends place where he and his brother were cooking their sap. I took tons of pictures so I'll post them tomorrow. It was a good day and best of all I could spend my time outdoors, even if it was still cool.
so out of 14 gal how much will Chris get? 21 miles on your 1st outside ride? Wow! Good job.
ReplyDeleteMaybe 1-2 quarts! Make sure ou read my post tomorrow about making maple syrup.
ReplyDeleteYeah, we thought about riding your way to drop off some paperwork, but I decided I wanted to ride my familar route. Maybe next time we'll ride by your house.
It was nice to be out, but without the sun it seemed much colder.
ReplyDeleteHow much sap is left after you boil it down, and how much sugar do you add?
I think your son is cool. He ice fishes and makes syrup. I've always wanted to do that. I have ice fished, but not the syrup making.
ReplyDeleteI will have to go for a bike ride soon! We still have lots of snow and ice and gravel all over the roads here. Three years ago I was doing a lot of cycling at this time of year... getting ready for a big bike trip. When I see your photos it brings back wonderful memories. You must be so excited about your upcoming adventure in Montana!
ReplyDeleteHL...we also had more clouds than sun. By the end of the ride my right foot/toes were numb! Should have used my toe warmers.
ReplyDeleteI'm guessing we'll get around 2qts after it finally boils down. As you boil it for hours or days, the natural maple syrup just comes out and the water cooks out. No sugar is added.
PAK ART...Chris does keep busy. He's a cool kid.
Sarah...hey, we just got more snow this morning! I'm glad you like to cycle. Hope you have good areas to bike in Calgary.
Glad you got out for a ride, it was a nice day. This morning we drove through Hoffman Hills. Everything was gorgeous with the snow. I'm gald it mostly all melted by this afternoon. We all took a walk and looked for agates in the fields.
ReplyDeleteGood for Chris. He is going to be quite the resourceful man.
We got 10 more gallons of sap that I will probably bring home tonight.
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