Scratch the itch

mmmm...last night was wonderful.

The ride I mean.

The bike ride that is.

There was quite the crowd in the parking lot. 3-4 times the normal amount. Seems as if a perfect storm of group rides congregated on the same evening.

I saw some of the hillbillies. So that was nice. (But where was Byrd?) And I saw Kathleen and Schottsi too. But otherwise it was far more people on the trails than I was in the mood for. You know how it goes sometimes. Especially for a hermit like me.

On the climb we had company. Groups passed us, we passed others. Always someone.

So I just hit it the whole climb. With a pace fast enough to make conversation not an option. Not that I was feeling curmudgeonly. I gasped out a pleasant hello to most. But that was the extent of any niceties. As I was fully encased in the rhythm of the climb.

And if I fell out of rhythm, a gentle hand supplied an even gentler push on my behind to get me back in sync. And for a moment, I saw the shadow of my former climbing self. Hello.

The viewpoint at the top was buzzing with riders and mosquitos. I opted out of my usual moment of awe while gazing at the forest leading to ocean. And instead, we fled that scene and got a jump start on the descent.

Within moments of snaking along the ferny track, we were utterly alone. Just me and him and the redwood forest singletrack ribboning in front of us.

Ahhhhh...

Nothing left to do but ride and revel in it.

So revel I did.