70? In February?

 Yes, believe it or not it was 70 degrees on February 27th here in Southwest Michigan. It was short lived, as we are not under a Winter Weather Advisory. lol. Pure Michigan.

You can see the temps here....and I will take 50 plus all day long in March.

Already have plans for the weekend to get some Gravel endurance riding in, followed by getting the Mudhorn dirty on Sunday. 

But, last night I managed to get out right after work for a ride on the TCX. It was too nice outside to pass up a ride. It was a bit windy, but that was because of the big storm pushing in.

I headed out of town to get to the nearest gravel. These roads took me to the Allegan State Game Area. 

Had the entire woods to myself. 

This is technically a cross country ski or hiking trail, but people ride on it. I was shocked to see some other tracks and a fairly worn in path. It was easy to follow. Even riding it on a gravel bike I didn't have any issues with conditions. It was a nice quiet ride on crunchy leaves. 

Not a bad view of the Swan Creek Pond. This trail runs along a valley the entire way. 

It was pretty clear sailing until this section. A handful of downed trees and limbs blocked my way. I had to actually use the cross bike for the purpose it was intended. I threw the bike on my shoulder and traversed the obstacles. Cross is not for me......

As I got to the end of this road I was presented with the option of left or right. 

This was right....

and this was left.

I opted for right and found a section of singletrack to ride. This little loop took me back toward home. Its not as ridden in as I would have liked, especially on a gravel bike. Kind of reminded me of the farm sections at the Cow Pie classic....only worse....and narrow....like a mountain bike trail. lol.

Eventually I found this section. Its a little valley that has a wonky bridge surrounded by muck. Thankfully I was able to take that bridge across and make it out the other side with no issues. 

At the top was more trail leading to some gravel roads that I would take home. 

There was also evidence of some logging many years ago. This area reminded me of Hanson Hills and sent my brain back to some painful climbing there. I will miss the Hanson Hills 50. :(

Eventually that trail gave way to the gravel. I rolled along and made it back to the last stretch of pavement. I started to realize that darkness was chasing me. And the wind wasn't doing me any favors. It was a cross wind, but blowing more toward my face so I was struggling to hold speed. 

About 3 miles from home I spied a dog standing in a yard. He had already spotted me but was just looking my direction. Then he pulled the pin and took off toward me, with his owner screaming for him to stop. Having a Great Dane I know how fast a big dog can cover ground....thankfully. Because an Irish Wolf Hound covers some major ground fast too. He was running towards me, but he wasn't growing or barking. As he got close I simply moved left and he glided past my rear wheel with no issues. Never good to get chased by a dog. Always good when its a positive outcome.

Overall it was a glorious day in SW Michigan. Today...not so much. 

I plan to do an easy spin tonight on the trainer just to keep my legs moving. Got a big block coming up this weekend.

Hope everyone is doing well.

Keep moving forward.