Happy Cinco de Mayo everyone!  I’m thinking of being lazy and going to Chipotle to pick up chicken bowls, but the least I can do is make us a batch of margaritas!

MargaritaMakings

Cinco de Mayo excuse for margaritas

MargaritaDeck

Ahhhh……….

Let’s back up to Cuatro de Mayo, shall we?  Yesterday was an exciting day on the W&OD Trail for the Cruisers!  We saw a horse galloping along!  I think I kind of made a fool of myself screaming, “I’ve got to get a picture of him, I’ve got to get a picture of him!”

HorseGallopingOnTrail

A walker stepped out of the way for Wookie to gallop by

When we were finished our run we saw the horse and his rider coming back toward us.  The horse’s name is Wookie, and he lives on a farm near where we start and finish our runs.  His owner says that he takes him out almost every day for a quick ride.  They are pictured  on the bridle path (gravel portion) of the trail that runs alongside the asphalt trail.  There are a few sections where the two trails join together; otherwise, they run parallel for 32.5 miles of the 44.5-mile long trail.

I wanted to show the many users of the trail, so even though we’d finished our run, Vamshi volunteered to run toward the camera for the picture.  You can see walkers, Vamshi running, Wookie trotting, and if you look closely to the left of the stop sign up on the asphalt trail, there are three bikers speeding by!  We were only missing an in-line skater and a cross-country skier!

HorseWalkingOnTrail

Walkers, runners, horses, and bikers sharing the trail

Anyone can use the trail from sunrise to sunset.  There is a “pecking order” right-of-way for trail users, although some bikers don’t always remember this.  The bottom line is, all users yield to horses!   🙂

YieldToHorses

We also saw these wild flowers growing along the trail in several places.  The blooms remind me of Grape Hyacinths, but they aren’t.  Does anyone know what they are?

TrailLavFlowers

Trail wildflowers

Alan is our speedy runner and he always starts out with us and then takes off after about a mile.  We usually see him heading back long before we turn around!

AlanRunningDistance

Cruiser Alan

Yesterday I decided to run watch-free to be a part of Cori’s challenge.  It was great, but my friend Amanda’s iPhone app announced our miles and pace every 1/2 mile.  It was kind of funny if you think about it!  🙂

WatchFreeRunning

Running Bare Armed

Just as we finished a group of older bikers passed us, all wearing green shirts that said “Biking for Stephen.”  One had an American flag on his bike and another had this white dove flag.

VeteransWhiteFlag

Riding For Stephen

  • Questions:
  • Do you have Cinco de Mayo plans?
  • De you ever run without a watch?
  • When was the last time you saw a horse gallop by?