We took a friend's suggestion to bike the trail at Lake Auburn and ran into a few snafus that started with us not getting on the road on time.
First I couldn't find the strap for the bike rack.
Then I realized the car's fuel gauge was on empty and I needed gas.
Then I saw that both my bike tires were flat when the kids rolled it out of the shed.
I'm a glass half-full type so I figured a trip to the gas station could not only fill up the car tank, but the bike tires as well and that all would be fine once we actually got on the road. I secured the bikes on the car rack with the strap I did manage to track down in the basement and printed out driving directions to the trail head in Auburn.
The directions seemed straight forward but I am familiar with the city of Auburn in only one way – driving to Mt. Apatite (the kids' favorite spot to mine for gems). What I did not anticipate was a road work detour that threw me off course and had me driving in circles before I figured out where I had taken a wrong turn.
The kids were mostly silent in the backseat while I was navigating our misguided way to Lake Auburn because they have learned to keep their comments to themselves rather than face a snippy mother while she's driving. Their lessons started as preschoolers when they had a tendency to voice their backseat driving thoughts. I did not find it all that cute then and I still don't have a very good sense of humor when I hear the, “You should have gone the other way instead” from the child who still has trouble finding a favorite toy, in plain site, on her own bedroom floor. Sometimes kids need a little perspective and I'm all too happy to offer some when I'm stressed about driving to a new location. Hence, the girls have learned to keep their mouths zipped in the backseat.
It was not that Lake Auburn's trail head was actually all that hard to find but there are some slight bends in the roads and unless you're paying attention to the changing street names (the last road changes name before you get to the trail head), or are familiar with the city of Auburn, you could get off track.
My missed turns only set us back about 15 minutes from our original plan but with clouds looming we unloaded the bikes quickly so we could hit the trail to get our ride in before the rain started.
The girls liked the rocky trail even though it was not graded like most of the other trails we have ventured on. Comments about “fun bumps” on this trail had me thinking that we should give a beginner mountain biking trail a whirl sometime soon.
The changing leaves on trees around the lake made this a really nice spot to take in the fall colors, and we enjoyed a great ride for about a mile and a half. Then we ran into a “Men Working” sign and large logging trucks blocking the trail. It was not passable and we were forced to turn around and head back to the car.
The kids were not overly disappointed with the shortened trip since it meant they could get to the nearby Wallingford's Fruit Stand for donuts and hot apple cider (a promised treat after our ride) that much faster.
I chalked the whole experience up to a day that I should have just spent at home. My stars were simply not aligned for an outdoor adventure. But the glass half-full side of me reflected that at least we didn't encounter to any leeches (Lake Auburn is actually a public drinking water supply so no bodily contact is permitted anyhow) or poison ivy. Nor were we swarmed by yellow jackets. (We've had “incidents” with each of these things previously).
Maybe I had a couple of small lucky stars on my side after all.
KID'S TRAIL REVIEW OF LAKE AUBURN
The 13-year-old: "I liked the trail. It had a nice view of the lake. There were a lot of bumps but they were fun bumps to go over on my bike. It was a good biking trail if you have been biking for a while. But if you are new at biking, this is not a trail you should go on yet. The bumps can be rough at some points. But it is a fun biking place overall. The donut place (Wallingford's) was close to this trail and those donuts were really good."
The 11-year-old: "The trail was bumpy and had a lot of little hills. It was a little too hilly for me because I haven't ridden my bike much this year and my legs got tired. But then we had to stop because they were logging (on the trail) but that was OK. I didn't mind going early to get donuts."
Biking at Lake Auburn
Originally published in Raising Maine Magazine, November 2009
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