A seven mile loop, beginning and ending at my door. A bit of pavement and then I cross the freeway ramp. A little bit up, a little bit east. The trees mask most of the auto noise, now I'm hearing the gurgle of the creek, the crunch of tires on gravel. A few miles on and it's back to a bit of pavement. A quick roll under the freeway, up to High Point. Past the gate, by the lake, I see a coyote cross the trail and vanish into the woods.The trail follows the power line cut, then curves down the mountain. I stop where the creek pauses in a pool, a green and peaceful place. The day will fill with a thousand busy things soon enough and this trip itself, with my bike loaded for a larger journey, is part of my own practice. Practice isn't always fast or far but the trails only remain trails when we find the time to travel them.
This small loop fits into the tight days, the forty minutes before breakfast or in the evening of a day that almost got away.
The freeway roars a story I ignore: that I must go fast and far and that I have too much to do. The trail remembers and reminds: go when you must, pause when you can. What you do is enough.
I grab my bike, point it down the trail and head for home.
Nice short post, read quickly at my desk between customer email replies. A nice pause on a harried trail for me, but thanks, Kent!
ReplyDeleteKent,
ReplyDeleteAs someone who often struggles to find time to ride, I found your words here both beautiful and encouraging. Sometimes a quick taste of the trail or road is just enough.
Nice. Those close to home areas are the best - since they make a great quick getaway.
ReplyDeleteMy neighborhood getaway is St Ed/Big Finn Park. Fantastic to roll out of the garage and into the woods in minutes.
Is that your complete Divide kit on the bike, Kent?
ReplyDeleteBilly,
ReplyDeleteWhat's on the bike is pretty close to what will be on the bike for the Tour Divide. A SPOT tracker will go someplace and what you can't see in these shots is the somewhat customized Ergon BD2 pack I'm wearing. I'll do a post detailing the pack and the final gear shortly before I take off.
Kent
Nice bike. Keep it up with short post but try to post them a little bit more often.
ReplyDeleteGreat post. I love this: "The trail remembers and reminds: go when you must, pause when you can. What you do is enough."
ReplyDeleteWords to live by, on and off the bike.
Thanks!
As a wise cyclist once said: Any distance is biking distance. It's easy to forget to "too short" really isn't, if that is all you have time for.
ReplyDeleteYr Pal Dr C