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!
Cinco de Mayo excuse for margaritas
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!”
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!
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! 🙂
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?
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!
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! 🙂
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.
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?
Everyone yields to horses on the New River Trail, too. I’ve only seen riders a few times though. Most of the time I only see their hoof prints and their droppings. You got a good picture! That looks like a young horse. Too funny how you ran without your watch but one of the Cruisers’ phone apps was announcing the pace and distance every half mile 🙂 You tried, at least, haha. I think it still counts!!
We’ve seen riders walking their horses before, but have never seen one in a full on gallop. It was cool!
Where was my invite for the margarita party !? I used to ride horses back I the day!
Come on up; I’ll save one for you!
It’s just smart to yield to horses, me thinks. I lived in a Western city and they were everywhere.. walking down the highway, in the parks, along the trails. Its was pretty neat.
My family will be enjoying Mexican themed noms today, including the best cake I’ve ever made and some sort of melty chicken dip.
I hope you post pictures of your yummies! Enjoy!
I lived in LA last summer, and would sometimes cycle on a bike trail that ran parallel to a dried up river bed near some horse farms. Sometimes the riders would do a short gallop – which was cool to watch, although the resultant dust clouds were less cool, for those of us cycling up top!
All the Mexican food popping up in blog-land is making my mouth water! Hope you had a few extra bites of Chipotle for me! =)
Agreed, not cool running and cycling in a dust bowl.
Hey! Chipotle is delicious 🙂 I don’t blame you!
I’m so glad you’re doing the challenge! Thanks for spreading the word!
No problem! It’s a great challenge.
[…] gears just a bit, I saw Wookie on the trail twice last week. This picture was taken on Friday toward the end of my run. I […]
[…] little farther down the W&OD Trail I saw John and Wookie out for a morning ride. Actually, it might not have been Wookie, but that’s the only […]