What about you? Road bikes are fun.
After rolling (hard) out the valley, it is the climb. I am an unlikely climber- long, ungainly, terribly good-looking. Despite the tradition of small riders dancing punchily up slopes of unusual height, in my heart I know the true climbers are simply those who love the suffering. I may not be able to suffer as quickly as those boys, but I can suffer as much.
False summits, increasing gradients, cambered switchbacks, sweat in the eye...yes. Don't get me wrong. I enjoy the sweeping descent as well.
It was at the point of the 1st real drop that I noticed my fancy cycling jacket was no longer in my jersey pocket. That saddened me. It is a nice jacket. A vest, too- the sleeves zip off. So I turned around. I retraced the route. I did not see it on the road there. I felt it was likely the jacket had been pulled out of my pocket when I hopped that one fence on account of the gate was closed. It wasn't at the gate. It wasn't on the climb as I descended, and the gal I stopped had not seen it on her way up. It wasn't on the valley road, though I kept my eyes on the road side opposite. There was enough wind it could be anywhere. It could be in some unscrupulous rider's own pocket by that time. I saw a black billow in the weeds, but it was a trash bag. I began to imagine what alternatives I have at home with which to replace it. My orange jacket is fine for road riding, but a bit bright for the type of trails I frequent. My green windbreaker is too traditional, with it's coach vibe and it's sweat retaining cotton lining. These are boring thoughts even to type (much less read) but they are what circulates in a mind facing a headwind with no jacket while the loss is fresh.
I did find it. When the hope was all but gone, there it was in the opposite gutter. Story of my life. I crossed 4 lanes, scooped it up, put it on, and rode home.
...as I cast my eye back, I see the thread of Loss running through these last few posts. It is not as prevalent as you might infer- there is more to Life than what gets posted here. But I do seem to be letting things get away an awful lot. What to do? Tighten my grip or loosen up...
After rolling (hard) out the valley, it is the climb. I am an unlikely climber- long, ungainly, terribly good-looking. Despite the tradition of small riders dancing punchily up slopes of unusual height, in my heart I know the true climbers are simply those who love the suffering. I may not be able to suffer as quickly as those boys, but I can suffer as much.
False summits, increasing gradients, cambered switchbacks, sweat in the eye...yes. Don't get me wrong. I enjoy the sweeping descent as well.
It was at the point of the 1st real drop that I noticed my fancy cycling jacket was no longer in my jersey pocket. That saddened me. It is a nice jacket. A vest, too- the sleeves zip off. So I turned around. I retraced the route. I did not see it on the road there. I felt it was likely the jacket had been pulled out of my pocket when I hopped that one fence on account of the gate was closed. It wasn't at the gate. It wasn't on the climb as I descended, and the gal I stopped had not seen it on her way up. It wasn't on the valley road, though I kept my eyes on the road side opposite. There was enough wind it could be anywhere. It could be in some unscrupulous rider's own pocket by that time. I saw a black billow in the weeds, but it was a trash bag. I began to imagine what alternatives I have at home with which to replace it. My orange jacket is fine for road riding, but a bit bright for the type of trails I frequent. My green windbreaker is too traditional, with it's coach vibe and it's sweat retaining cotton lining. These are boring thoughts even to type (much less read) but they are what circulates in a mind facing a headwind with no jacket while the loss is fresh.
I did find it. When the hope was all but gone, there it was in the opposite gutter. Story of my life. I crossed 4 lanes, scooped it up, put it on, and rode home.
...as I cast my eye back, I see the thread of Loss running through these last few posts. It is not as prevalent as you might infer- there is more to Life than what gets posted here. But I do seem to be letting things get away an awful lot. What to do? Tighten my grip or loosen up...
2 comments:
Knit a wider safety net.
get a bull ring through your septum and zip tie everything to it
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