susanne
dB
Mingus and I have a new toy, thaniks to Bob Graham. On New Year's Day, we met up with Bob at my sister and mom's place to try out -- our new HyperBike!
Bob wanted to deliver the 'bike and see Mingus hitched to it. Mt. Scott was a good halfway point and had good winter driving trails. This is the place where I grew up, where I developed independence and courage by climbing tall fir trees and building darns in our creek. It is where I rode my bike, pretending it was a horse. It is where Keith and I had our wedding -- where the woods meets the meadow. It is the place of many firsts, so it was the perfect place and the perfect day for a test drive.
Not much had been done with the woods in recent years, and it was congested with brush, windfall and overgrown trees. This past summer my sister, Carla, wanted to create a place for us to drive Mingus. She cleared underbrush, widened paths, raked branches and detritis from the woods, In the meadow she pruned thorny hawthornes and roses and cut down a plethora of saplings that blocked the path. Keith and I helped -- on about 5% of a massive job. For the most part, it was Carla who created the Mingus MicroMiniMarathon.
As fellow NWers will recall, 2011 came in as a frigid little baby -- the little tyke must have been blue, as I would have been had I not been bundled in two coats over a turtleneck sweater. Mingus had his lush fur coat, so he was just dandy. I'm not certain which of us was fluffier, in terms of both coats and body. After we unloaded him, he renewed his acquaintance with Berry, Carla's horseloving Basenji/Shepherd, who had run with Mingus on previous visits.
I harnessed Mingus as Bob and Keith fetched the goods. This 'bike is a temporary until the official Mingus rig is built. The shafts are a tad short, but since Mingus is not a mare, the tighter fit was fine. He is already comfortable with the HyperBike, as I borrowed Daryl's rig for a schooling CDE marathon.
The only thing wrong was my brain, which had obviously frozen shut (or perhaps decided to stay home). I had the harness adjusted for my EE cart, and I didn't notice the problem until I climbed in. I seemed to be looking at the sky...hmm, think something's wrong here? I got out and we dropped the tugs a notch on each side. It felt good on the hard, level driveway, so we set out on our test run.
Our planned route was to cross the gravel driveway, pass in front of the huge garden shed, drive between the bamboo canes on the ground and the stack of pots next to the shed, climb up a short but steep path and move into the woods. Then we would follow one of several paths through the deep woods and step out into the meadow. There we could go under the arching wild rose, circle the meadow and finally exit down onto the driveway. (Actually, it's a short drive, taking less time to complete the course than to read about it.)
That was the plan...
Mingus was anxious to get back to his REAL job -- driving! He pranced across the gravel and passed the shed without incident, but I guess I'll need to reasess how I gauge narrow passageways for the HyperBike's wider wheelbase. Instead of driving around the bamboo canes, we went right over them. That was a new sound that startled Mingus, but he was a trooper and continued on.
I forgot to mention that after the short but steep entrance into the woods we had to make a sharp left turn and cut between two small firs, so we were climbing and making a tight, difficult turn at once, hoping not to clip a tree. Mingus did it with room to spare.
Once we were in the woods, Mingus wanted to GO, He had his own carriage dog running alongside and he was loving the lightness of his load -- the HyperBike, that is, not the driver -- but he had an edge to him that was very un-Mingus-like. Pent up energy and not enough recent driving, I thought. I had yet to breathe since that tight fit between the first pair of trees, so I made him take it slowly and we stuck to the widest path (see, my brain wasn't totally frozen).
Once we came out into the meadow things got just a wee bit bouncy. I felt like I was popping a wheelie, and Mingus became even antsier. I stopped just as Bob and Keith caught up with us. Neither had on warm enough coats, and Bob had no gloves on, so they were both freezing.
Knowing the regular exit to the driveway was quite narrow, I opted to go back the way we came. (We'll widen the exit later.) Mingus was rather cautious about going down the hill and out of the woods. Keith suggested that I needed to keep Mingus to the right of the bamboo...great idea, but easier said than done. Mingus obviously didn't connect that scary noise with the bamboo canes, and he ran over them again. (They were partially frozen to the ground, so we couldn't move them.)
Once we were back in the driveway I got out and we dropped the tugs even more. Now it looked and felt perfect. Obviously operator error, and I was the operator. With the cart properly balanced, we decided to try the Mingus MicroMiniMarathon once again. Mingus was much happier, but he still had ants in his pants.
Once again we crossed the driveway and passed the shed. Once again we did not avoid the bamboo on the ground. (I'll blame this time on Mingus or I'll just look dumb. Truthfully, he wasn't listening to my voice, the reins or the whip, which is totally unlike him.) He flew up the hill and rocketed between the two trees, doing it EXACTLY as he had done it the first time, only much faster. I once again held my breath, and once again we were fine. Even with the steep slope and the tight turn, the HyperBike held its ground. I let Mingus move out a bit more through the woods and when we circled the meadow. Once again, the noble carriage dog loped along with us.
Wisdom being the better part of valor, we decided to save driving under the wild rose for a later drive (I pruned that sucker, and those thorns are wicked!). We stopped to talk with Carla as Keith and Bob froze, then went back through the woods. I was determined not to hit the bamboo this time, so we stopped at the top of the slope and lined ourselves up for a slow, controlled exit.
That was the plan...
We started out nice and easy, but we ended ROUGH (apologies to Ike and Tina Turner). Mingus went down the hill slowly, but he leaped past the scary bamboo. Well, he got part of it right. He missed the bamboo but he knocked over the entire stack of plastic pots, crushing a good number of them before we were clear.
At this point, you might question Mingus' manners or his ability to listen and obey, but this wasn't Mingus' normal behavior, and it had me puzzled. True, the sounds of the bamboo canes and crunchy pots were scary, but he normally deals with scary things by stopping to stare or by waiting for me to fix everything. I knew there was more to this than scary sounds (this is the horse who didn't flinch at fire sirens in a parade...the horse that just watched and laughed as the nextdoor neighbors shot off big, illegal fireworks. I thought I had alleviated any discomfort when we lowered the tugs to the proper setting. Hmm...He only acts up when. the. harness. is. ill-adjusted...
I knew the answer before I even looked. When we had loosened the tugs and thus loweredthe shafts, the holdback straps were pulled tighter, but I didn't let them out. Shame on me! His thick winter woolles hid how tight the breeching was (although you'd think I'd see it, considering how close I sat to his nether regions. I unharnessed him and checked for signs of chafing -- there were none and he didn't flinch at my touch, so it wasn't dangerously tight, just enough to annoy him.
Worst of all, we had forgotten treats!
Carla went inside and brought out some oats and water for Mingus and -- since he wouldn't share -- fudge for the rest of us. Mingus then showed off his magnifence by leaping into our cargo van without hesitation and going to work on his hay.
This is not the end of the story, however. As a dénouement, our trip back home was rather exciting, and not in a good way. We discovered that the front end of our van, which had been slightly loose, had now gone way beyond loose. We annoyed all the drivers by crawling along Hwy 30 (trying not to imagine standing by the highway with our horse, trying to thumb a ride...). We then cautiously wound our way up our hill. We had planned on joining the Whitemans for their 2011 Winter Drive, but that van was going nowhere, especially not with a horse in the back.
There are many morals to this story and many lessons learned, but I won't bore you with those. We had a fantastic time, although I do hope Bob's fingers have thawed...
Bob wanted to deliver the 'bike and see Mingus hitched to it. Mt. Scott was a good halfway point and had good winter driving trails. This is the place where I grew up, where I developed independence and courage by climbing tall fir trees and building darns in our creek. It is where I rode my bike, pretending it was a horse. It is where Keith and I had our wedding -- where the woods meets the meadow. It is the place of many firsts, so it was the perfect place and the perfect day for a test drive.
Not much had been done with the woods in recent years, and it was congested with brush, windfall and overgrown trees. This past summer my sister, Carla, wanted to create a place for us to drive Mingus. She cleared underbrush, widened paths, raked branches and detritis from the woods, In the meadow she pruned thorny hawthornes and roses and cut down a plethora of saplings that blocked the path. Keith and I helped -- on about 5% of a massive job. For the most part, it was Carla who created the Mingus MicroMiniMarathon.
As fellow NWers will recall, 2011 came in as a frigid little baby -- the little tyke must have been blue, as I would have been had I not been bundled in two coats over a turtleneck sweater. Mingus had his lush fur coat, so he was just dandy. I'm not certain which of us was fluffier, in terms of both coats and body. After we unloaded him, he renewed his acquaintance with Berry, Carla's horseloving Basenji/Shepherd, who had run with Mingus on previous visits.
I harnessed Mingus as Bob and Keith fetched the goods. This 'bike is a temporary until the official Mingus rig is built. The shafts are a tad short, but since Mingus is not a mare, the tighter fit was fine. He is already comfortable with the HyperBike, as I borrowed Daryl's rig for a schooling CDE marathon.
The only thing wrong was my brain, which had obviously frozen shut (or perhaps decided to stay home). I had the harness adjusted for my EE cart, and I didn't notice the problem until I climbed in. I seemed to be looking at the sky...hmm, think something's wrong here? I got out and we dropped the tugs a notch on each side. It felt good on the hard, level driveway, so we set out on our test run.
Our planned route was to cross the gravel driveway, pass in front of the huge garden shed, drive between the bamboo canes on the ground and the stack of pots next to the shed, climb up a short but steep path and move into the woods. Then we would follow one of several paths through the deep woods and step out into the meadow. There we could go under the arching wild rose, circle the meadow and finally exit down onto the driveway. (Actually, it's a short drive, taking less time to complete the course than to read about it.)
That was the plan...
Mingus was anxious to get back to his REAL job -- driving! He pranced across the gravel and passed the shed without incident, but I guess I'll need to reasess how I gauge narrow passageways for the HyperBike's wider wheelbase. Instead of driving around the bamboo canes, we went right over them. That was a new sound that startled Mingus, but he was a trooper and continued on.
I forgot to mention that after the short but steep entrance into the woods we had to make a sharp left turn and cut between two small firs, so we were climbing and making a tight, difficult turn at once, hoping not to clip a tree. Mingus did it with room to spare.
Once we were in the woods, Mingus wanted to GO, He had his own carriage dog running alongside and he was loving the lightness of his load -- the HyperBike, that is, not the driver -- but he had an edge to him that was very un-Mingus-like. Pent up energy and not enough recent driving, I thought. I had yet to breathe since that tight fit between the first pair of trees, so I made him take it slowly and we stuck to the widest path (see, my brain wasn't totally frozen).
Once we came out into the meadow things got just a wee bit bouncy. I felt like I was popping a wheelie, and Mingus became even antsier. I stopped just as Bob and Keith caught up with us. Neither had on warm enough coats, and Bob had no gloves on, so they were both freezing.
Knowing the regular exit to the driveway was quite narrow, I opted to go back the way we came. (We'll widen the exit later.) Mingus was rather cautious about going down the hill and out of the woods. Keith suggested that I needed to keep Mingus to the right of the bamboo...great idea, but easier said than done. Mingus obviously didn't connect that scary noise with the bamboo canes, and he ran over them again. (They were partially frozen to the ground, so we couldn't move them.)
Once we were back in the driveway I got out and we dropped the tugs even more. Now it looked and felt perfect. Obviously operator error, and I was the operator. With the cart properly balanced, we decided to try the Mingus MicroMiniMarathon once again. Mingus was much happier, but he still had ants in his pants.
Once again we crossed the driveway and passed the shed. Once again we did not avoid the bamboo on the ground. (I'll blame this time on Mingus or I'll just look dumb. Truthfully, he wasn't listening to my voice, the reins or the whip, which is totally unlike him.) He flew up the hill and rocketed between the two trees, doing it EXACTLY as he had done it the first time, only much faster. I once again held my breath, and once again we were fine. Even with the steep slope and the tight turn, the HyperBike held its ground. I let Mingus move out a bit more through the woods and when we circled the meadow. Once again, the noble carriage dog loped along with us.
Wisdom being the better part of valor, we decided to save driving under the wild rose for a later drive (I pruned that sucker, and those thorns are wicked!). We stopped to talk with Carla as Keith and Bob froze, then went back through the woods. I was determined not to hit the bamboo this time, so we stopped at the top of the slope and lined ourselves up for a slow, controlled exit.
That was the plan...
We started out nice and easy, but we ended ROUGH (apologies to Ike and Tina Turner). Mingus went down the hill slowly, but he leaped past the scary bamboo. Well, he got part of it right. He missed the bamboo but he knocked over the entire stack of plastic pots, crushing a good number of them before we were clear.
At this point, you might question Mingus' manners or his ability to listen and obey, but this wasn't Mingus' normal behavior, and it had me puzzled. True, the sounds of the bamboo canes and crunchy pots were scary, but he normally deals with scary things by stopping to stare or by waiting for me to fix everything. I knew there was more to this than scary sounds (this is the horse who didn't flinch at fire sirens in a parade...the horse that just watched and laughed as the nextdoor neighbors shot off big, illegal fireworks. I thought I had alleviated any discomfort when we lowered the tugs to the proper setting. Hmm...He only acts up when. the. harness. is. ill-adjusted...
I knew the answer before I even looked. When we had loosened the tugs and thus loweredthe shafts, the holdback straps were pulled tighter, but I didn't let them out. Shame on me! His thick winter woolles hid how tight the breeching was (although you'd think I'd see it, considering how close I sat to his nether regions. I unharnessed him and checked for signs of chafing -- there were none and he didn't flinch at my touch, so it wasn't dangerously tight, just enough to annoy him.
Worst of all, we had forgotten treats!
Carla went inside and brought out some oats and water for Mingus and -- since he wouldn't share -- fudge for the rest of us. Mingus then showed off his magnifence by leaping into our cargo van without hesitation and going to work on his hay.
This is not the end of the story, however. As a dénouement, our trip back home was rather exciting, and not in a good way. We discovered that the front end of our van, which had been slightly loose, had now gone way beyond loose. We annoyed all the drivers by crawling along Hwy 30 (trying not to imagine standing by the highway with our horse, trying to thumb a ride...). We then cautiously wound our way up our hill. We had planned on joining the Whitemans for their 2011 Winter Drive, but that van was going nowhere, especially not with a horse in the back.
There are many morals to this story and many lessons learned, but I won't bore you with those. We had a fantastic time, although I do hope Bob's fingers have thawed...
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