So instead of my normal Sunday 3 hours of southfarm or so, I decided I'd mix it up a little and do some exploring around here. Started off out at southfarm, checking out a few older, less-used roads that go off into the woods. I knew the roads dead-ended in a couple of giant fields used for hay, but I wanted to see if there was any way to connect them. Turns out there isn't... Oh well. Then I decided I'd check out a road I'd ridden past countless times. On the way to skunk hill, you cross a bridge, make a sharp right, then a 90-degree left, then you begin the skunk hill climb. Well, just past that bridge, an old roadbed (can't see gravel anymore) goes off straight towards some woods. I'd seen cars parked at the end of it, so I went to go check it out. Turns out it's an access point to the new MSU cross-country course. The old XC course over by the research park is gone since they put the 82 bypass through there, and this is aparently where they built the new one. I rode around on it for a bit. Not sure what loop they use, but there's probably a couple miles of it. Really quite nice... nice short-mowed grass, thoughfully, the course runs along groves of trees for a lot of it. There's also some decent hills on it. Pretty cool find I thought. Not that I do much running, but it might be good for Kristen... Anywho, continued on around southfarm a couple more times and a cropduster shows up. You know, one of those little planes that sprays all sorts of lovely chemicals. At first it just seemed like he was messing around, flying really low and taking really tight turns. Then he does two spray runs. Kinda weird, spraying a grassy field at southfarm, which is an animal research facility. I thought maybe he was just spraying water for practice or something, since he only did it twice, then took off in the direction of Columbus. Continued on around some more and he shows up again, only this time he is definitely spraying something, over and over. It was awesome to watch. Flying maybe 20' off the ground and pulling up and over power lines and stuff. Looked like a blast. But, I didn't know what he was spraying, so I didn't want to get dusted by it... So off I went towards the pipeline. I hadn't been out there since being back here, so figure I might as well since I was exploring. It's still pretty much the same I guess. Looks like only 4-wheelers use it these days. It's quite overgrown in places, and was probably tick-city, but I made it through without any on me. Eventually (not as far out as I remember), the pipeline intersects a golf course! I was riding along on all that white dirt that's filled with fossils they have out there, and all of a sudden, I'm on a golf cart track. Woops. Instead of riding back along the pipeline, I followed the cart track back out to the highway and rode home from there.
Pretty neat stuff. Not the usual Sunday ride, but still 3 hours in the saddle and it was neat to see something new and something sorta new...
STILL no camera...
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