WHY DO WE ENJOY RIDING? - HERE'S A REASON

It was a warm and sunny Autumn afternoon, so we decided to take a ride on our local Rails-to-Trails following work. As we were riding along, we were mildly startled by this large object passing just over our heads from behind us. We had no idea what it was initially until it dropped down in front of the bike, a couple of feet off the ground, wings out stretched, as it glided along in front of us. It was a beautiful hawk! Coming towards us from the opposite direction, a lone biker on the trail had to stop and dismount for fear of being struck by the bird. She ducked, while the hawk soared gracefully over her head and took a perch along the path on a formerly used telegraph pole. We pulled up next to it and admired it for a moment. Surprisingly it did not fly off, and I was able to capture it in this picture. Not an experience we would have had while traveling in a car or sitting on our couch. And thus is a reason why we enjoy biking.

Hawk along the Hop River State Park Trail.