It snowed a few days ago but that didn’t slow down Spring too much. The cherry and apricot trees are loaded with blossoms and the gooseberry bushes are a magical shade of green. The garden is ready for planting and I’m ready to log some dirt road miles. The breeze was blowing from the WSW at about 13 mph, which is stiff but manageable, and the forecast predicted it would be the lightest breeze for the next ten days. An opportunity’s knocking…
I left the cottage without a firm plan, thinking I would ride into the breeze until I didn’t want to anymore, and then turn around and sail back home, on the wind. The “I don’t want to anymore” came too quickly though. At the edge of town, the sand got deep and the wind pushed the teardrops along the wrinkled furrows at the corners of my eyes. It wasn’t what I imagined moments ago when I pulled on my bike britches.
“A goal without a plan is just a wish.” ~ Antoine de Saint-Exupéry
Time for a new plan. The best I could come up with was to pedal into the breeze until the pain and suffering became unbearable, then turn north until my heart rate dropped, and repeat the sequence until I logged a few miles. On the first north leg, as I rode past a new country home, a large black dog I had never seen before came tearing towards the road, barking and howling. I was hoping it wouldn’t get too close but I picked up the pace just in case.
Bike Dogs
I checked the Garmin and my heart rate was up to zone 3 for the first time of the day. Then on the second north leg, a trio of German Shorthairs came running towards the road but I’d been by here dozens of times and knew there was nothing to fear from this gang. They’re bird dogs, not bike dogs. Then it was back into the breeze for a long section. Riding on the dirt roads of the High Plains is a solitary endeavor that gives an old man plenty of time to think. Thoughts like, “Where the hell do these thoughts come from?” It’s as if my mind is a radio receiver and as I ride along, I go from one frequency to the next.
“Greetings all you gravel travelers, this is the PRDX mind-radio network. Did you ever consider that one of the great paradoxes of life is that when you’re riding at the fastest speed on your bike, your heart rate is the slowest and when you’re traveling at the slowest speed on your bike, your heart rate is the fastest.” Hmm.
“Life is a preparation for the future; and the best preparation for the future is to live as if there were none.” ~ Albert Einstein
“Hello out there, all you High Plains dirt jockeys, you’re tuned to CTRL mind-radio. Here’s the trivia question of the day. ‘Do individuals need to be selfless to benefit the collective? Or, does the collective need to benefit the individual? Which will create a better world?’ The first caller that understands the truth and answers correctly will win a free trip to a better world.”
Clear Sailing
Then I turn the corner and I’m out of the headwind, at the apex of the morning tour. It’s clear sailing all the way home and the positive thoughts began to channel in on the High Plains mind-radio network, except maybe, “damn my left rotator cuff hurts.” The rest of the ride is mostly uneventful. The power line crew has chewed up Gun Club Road pretty badly. Normally on a big west breeze, I can rip down GC road at 20 plus mph without much pedaling but today I was hard on the brakes most of the run for fear of hitting the nasty loose spots at high speed and going ass over appetite.
Another amazing ride out on the dirt roads that surround Emerald City. The tally for the season so far is 100 kilometers. That’s roughly the same as last year and about half of the mileage in 2022. The wind should be slowing down soon though, just in time for thunderstorm season;>)
