As we prepare to move all of our possessions and animals and equipment and and and ... I have not been able to get much riding time. Which is fine, except that the horses and I are slowly losing our minds. There is only so much struggling through the mud and hammering a person can take.
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| Winter = unending rain |
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| We usually only trail through the woods where it is hunters and atv's to fear, not cars. |
Since it is officially mud season in the Carolinas and I will need to pick up slowly, I have been scoping out hacking paths. Our new place is on a corner of two quiet-ish country roads, so I am seriously considering just riding down the road. I am a bit worried because the speed limit is 45, but if divers can manage to dodge the 800 or so deer that we have seen surely they can miss a neon rider.
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| He wants a job... I think we are both over this break. |
I would love to just got walk out a few miles without having to trailer any where, and having the pavement means that if I time if for a quiet time of day, I can ride on the pavement and avoid the mud. Especially since we only have a small area that the horses have access to until the majority of the land is cleared; since it is our luck, it appears that this open area is the slowest to dry... heello mud. If there is anything I hate it is listening to squish squish squish of horses in overly saturated footing. Having a paved road to ride on would be great, if it is safe.
What do you think? Does anyone on the blogg-o-sphere ride out on public roads?
We do at my farm. Its about half a mile from our farm to the end of the road, so makes a nice mile long hack. I will say, that while the road is narrow and twisty, it gets VERY LIGHT traffic and the speed limit is 25. If there is enough room to step off the road (and not piss off your neighbors), I would say go for it, but make sure you keep your eyes and ears open.
ReplyDeleteThere is a little 2 mile loop that seems to be VERY lightly trafficked. I am going to keep an eye on it and give it a try on while we are on Holiday break, I think the roads should be pretty empty mid day,
DeleteWe ride on public roads, but mostly dirt roads. We only use the one paved road and only to get to another dirt road. I don't like riding on that paved road as there isn't a good shoulder in some parts and the cards go fast. However, most people in our area are farmers so they understand the concept of slowing down and going wide if a horse is in the road. We rode on a small stretch of paved road in CA to get to the trails and that had a very good shoulder or I wouldn't have done it as people were nuts. They wouldn't slow or move over. Some would beep or rev their engine as they went past. My horses were all used to it, but it was not enjoyable. You'll have to see how drivers handle you riding on the road.
ReplyDeleteOur new place is much more rural, and although our main road has a 45 mph speed limit, there is not much traffic. Hopefully, this means that the side roads are even more lightly traveled. I am looking for anything as it will probably be mid January before we have the clearing done, and I will go crazy without riding by then.
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