Today our hosts had arranged a group ride to a nearby restaurant called Willards. Well, restaurant might be a bit of a generous description. It was more of a biker bar, with a pool table and other assorted bar games. The three mile ride took us to a large backyard with a couple of highlines strung on some trees, so high up that I stayed on Apollo to hook him up before dismounting. The ride included Gregg and Julie and another couple we had met with them at Otter Creek in September, and were joined by another couple who drove there. The service was a bit slow, but the food was pretty good (burger and sweet potato fries). The ride was way off the beaten track for the most part, along trails so unmarked we would never have been able to find the place on our own. Hubby and I stayed at the back of the back, partly because the pace the others were keeping was a bit quicker than we usually do, so we had to trot to keep up occasionally. After awhile, my horse was starting to get a bit irritated by trotting a short distance, then having to slow down again, without ever getting a chance to really stretch his legs. Eventually we all trotted a few times, which helped, but then he wanted to canter, and didn’t have room for that either. He “rodeo-ed” on my once, when he suddenly leaps in the air like a bronco with all four feet off the ground just to make his opinion known (as one of our group called it), but then he settled down again for the rest of the ride. Hubby and I have come to the conclusion that we like to ride on our own for the most part, and group rides are something we’ll do only on occasions like this one, not something we’d seek out for ourselves. We’ve come across lots of people who seek out clubs and group rides, but that’s just not for us, at least not for now. That’s not to take away from the day, though, it was a nice change and we enjoyed it. Always like to do something new once in a while to keep things fresh! Headed back, taking some new trails just to keep it more interesting, until we finally make it back to the Black Prong Trailhead and back home.
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