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[RC] BSF Part 8 of 9 - April JohnsonI headed back down the road the way we'd come. After a minute or two, I noticed I'd forgotten to tight my boot laces. I tried to do it while going down the trail, but gave up after a minute and dismounted. Then I remounted and headed out again. I leisurely walked Tanna past where we'd gotten our picture taken, then picked up a bit of a trot for awhile. I briefly thought of heading out at a brisk pace to try to catch K&K. But I realized they had a good 15 minutes on me and it'd be hard to make that up. I probably wouldn't catch them (if ever) until pretty close to the end of the trail, so I decided to take things easy and just mosey along like I was out for a Sunday afternoon pleasure ride. I walked Tanna for awhile again. Looking at the foliage and the sky and relishing the temperature and low humidity. An LD rider came up behind me at a trot. She and I both thought she was going to pass, but her horse thought it would be nice to walk for awhile, so she walked until she was passed me a good bit. She introduced herself, but I totally forgot her name. Anyway, after a minute she looked back and said, "I'm gonna trot." "Ok." So off she trotted. Tanna did some nice side passes for me, since I wanted him to keep going down the trail at a speed of my choosing. If we side pass, ok. :-) After the horse ahead got out of earshot and eyesight, another 2 horses came up from behind. Both LD riders. One of them I remembered from the vet in. A new horse. First ride. They asked if I was ok. I said, sure, just out enjoying the day, taking it easy. They trotted off and Tanna pitched a bigger fit. More nice side passes. Side pass to the left, turn, side pass to the right. I was in the zone, though, and just enjoyed every minute. Tanna settled back down as they got out of sight. He still thought I was crazy for moseying when there was a race to win! Pretty soon, we were stopped again. I had drank about a liter of liquid at the vet check and since I wasn't sweating a lot, I needed to get rid of it somehow. Tanna was certain we'd pick up the pace once I remounted, so danced impatiently while I was trying to mount. Silly boy, we're out for a stroll, not a record breaker. After a few minutes, Tanna was trotting along slowly and STOPPED on his own accord to guzzle water out of a clear running puddle down the trail. He drank and drank. Good boy! He walked a few steps and drank some more. Excellent! I patted him and told him how good he was. Our pace back to camp was pretty much the same. We did trot and canter some. When I felt like it, when it was uphill or straight. I made him walk down every single hill and trot up every steep hill. The moderate hills, he walked up. I swear he thought I was nutso! But I was enjoying myself so much! I didn't want the ride to end, so I was making the most of our time out there. At one point, I stopped him in the trail and pulled out a bag of peanuts and dates in a ziplock bag. I rattled it and Tanna pricked his ears at me. I leaned over and offered him a handful. He took it eagerly. By the time I stopped feeding him, he would bend his head back toward my foot when he heard the rattle. Hehehe. That's a trick Laura told me to do with him and it's working great! I saw very few people on the trail after the other LD riders passed us. I did see 5 or so 50 milers heading out the other direction. I also saw 4 pleasure riders that I exchanged pleasantries with. I was already walking most of the time, so I didn't have to slow down except once maybe. I also saw a trail marker. I was napping on Tanna, lulling, enjoying the day, when I was surprised to hear them behind me. I turned and she said hi. I smiled and said I was just out enjoying the weather and the ride. She said, "no problem." and trotted off down the trail. At some point during the ride, I saw a good sized red fox trotting along the trail in front of us. When he heard us, he ran into the woods. I pulled up and watched him watch us. It was absolutely great! After few minutes, the fox ran deeper into the woods and we started off again. Sometime I wouldn't have seen if I'd been trotting or with a group. So nice! As we approached camp, I saw more 50 milers heading out on their 3rd loop. Tanna was sure we'd speed up now! Well, we did, but only because the trail was in the sun and it was cooler to trot! Most of the trail was shaded. With the weather and the shade, the trail was SO pleasant. When we came out on the gravel road leading to the vet check a mere 1000 feet away, I dismounted and stood with Tanna in the shade as I checked his HR. 72 or so. I undid part of his breast collar, patted him and headed toward the timers. I passed Howard leading a horse toward the stables. We exchanged a couple of words and I continued on. As I came into view of the timers, Nancy jumped up to get my card and said "there you are!" "Were you waiting on me?" "Well, we were getting a little worried, but others said they'd seen you, so..." "I was just taking it easy and having fun." "Do you want to vet in now?" "Nope, I'll go unsaddle him first." 2 o'clock was written on my vet card. Exactly 6 hours since the start. Now to unsaddle and go back to pulse down. He was probably down, but I was still in my lazy mood and wanted to take my time. For the next 20 minutes, I unsaddled, sponged, and chattered to Daniel about our ride. What a good time I'd had! And I had to have gotten the turtle position (last) for sure! Otherwise, they wouldn't have been keeping an eye out for me. :-) Tanna pretty much ignored Serts and ate hay while I busied myself preparing for the vet out. We walked back to vet him out. 2:23 PM was our pulse time with a pulse of 53. He vetted out with mostly As and A-s. Only one B+ in guts. He weighed at 748. He'd lost 32 pounds over the course of the ride. ...To Be Continued April Nashville, TN =-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-= Ridecamp is a service of Endurance Net, http://www.endurance.net. Information, Policy, Disclaimer: http://www.endurance.net/Ridecamp Subscribe/Unsubscribe http://www.endurance.net/ridecamp/logon.asp Ride Long and Ride Safe!! =-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=
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