Suquamish, WA - 13 Jun 2024
Another sunny day. I'll take it. The day was supposed to be cloudy and overcast for the most part. A storm looms on the horizon and we are soon to be under another deluge. This is the time of year when we get tons of rain followed by intense sunshine. The result is gardens, plants and anything else that grows from the earth springs to life and makes a mad dash for the heavens. By July the rain will abate for several months while all those green things grow thicker and stronger. Months of dense nutrition to prepare us for winter.
The advantage from the sun wakes us land walkers and air fliers to roam the planet and gorge on nature's bounty. As a result we get a little thicker too. To keep things at bay, I choose to increase my activity. Something also made easier in the presence of all this sunshine.
I ride faster and harder this time of year. My runs are swifter and my muscles respond in kind. The whole cycle is pretty neat and mostly amazing. I am noticing my speed and stamina is improving recently. What was once difficult is now getting easier and more enjoyable. The struggle has gone from climbing hills and I find that I can put more effort into it with ease and actually feel good about it.
My ride home this evening was a classic example. I hit the hills hard and used bigger gears. That lets me deliver more power to the wheels and go faster in the process. Mind you this isn't some monster aps conquest like in the Tour de France, but for me it feels the same. The final hill on my ride home is pretty steep and today I rode right up and over it. In my head I was wearing the King of the Mountain jersey, but I digress.
By the time I got home I was feeling pretty good and a little full of myself. My driveway is the length of a football field and straight up. I rode hard all the way up. It ends in some mogul like humps and hills, all unpaved with a hard turn to the left. Some more bumps and I am on the path to my shed. I just have to negotiate the narrow bit between the steps up to my house entrance and a bunch of trees.
So, the thing about bikes is they tend to follow the rider's eye. Look where you want to go and the bike will follow. Look at what you want to avoid and well, things don't go very well. Today, cocky fool that I am, I put my eye on that first step and the next thing I know I caught a toe on it. I did manage to recover my balance before taking a spill on the landing, but managed to scrape up my ankle just enough to remind me not to do that again. Merde.
Keep on truckin'
-Mike