I like riding my bike.
This past Wednesday I was working. I like working, but I like it less than riding my bike. I was working and Ryan Zalewski (we’ll call him Z for short) asked how many bikes I could fit on my truck. I could tell immediately that I liked where this was going. I said four, but the cab of the truck is a bit tight for four people. Not a problem, Z says, let’s go ride Goose tomorrow afternoon.
And that’s how you get my brain working. Make a simple suggestion and walk away. I quickly began scheming on how this was going to work. I usually work 8-4:30, but we assumed we needed to be on the road by 4:30 to get a descent ride in. It also happened that I needed to do payroll that next day and doing payroll while being interrupted isn’t good for anyone. So I went into work at 7:30 effectively killing two heads of lettuce with one stone (I don’t like to kill birds). I got payroll done more or less before anyone else was at the shop, avoiding the challenge of doing that task whilst being interrupted every two minutes. And it put me off at 4.
The only other challenge to overcome was the fact that I have a standing date with my wife to do Yoga (no not the “whiskey is my yoga” type of yoga) on Thursday evenings. I am a lucky man in that my wife objects to just about nothing. If I want to ride my bike, I ride my bike. If I want to take a month off to go hike the JMT, she’s on board with enthusiasm. Yoga is my way of saying thank you, you are awesome and yes, I will do this for you because you are so awesome.
This was the only reason I didn’t just say, yes, we will go to the Goose on Thursday. I wanted to talk to KB and get her to come along as well. I was successful in said proposition, however, in the effort I promised to go to Sunday Morning Yoga with her. I assumed that I could do yoga and then hold our regular Church of the Holy Alliance of Mooseknucklers Sunday Services in the afternoon.
Off to ride the Goose!
As I mentioned above, I like to ride my bike. This is no big secret, but there are times when riding my bike is a spiritual experience where everything else in the world melts away and the ride is perfect. This happens every so often, it’s definitely not an every ride type of a thing. I have experienced perfect riding Zen on all types of rides; from total sufferfests, downhill runs, singlespeed headwind death marches, rides around the block, etc. It has little to do with the type of ride and a lot more to do with my senses just coming together to give me perfect euphoria. It’s kind of like heroine.
KB and I got a little turned around trying to find Z’s house putting us there a little after 4:30. We loaded up the bikes, tied Z in a knot and put him in the back and headed toward the Goose. About an hour later we were unloading bikes in the White Trailhead. Just being in the trailhead in the afternoon was worth the trip. The sun is starting to sink and the shadows are long. The colors begin to pop and there is a sense of thrill. It felt like cheating to be on the Goose, after work, on a weekday.
Then we started to pedal. I felt like someone had just let me out of a cage. The pedals seemed to turn themselves as we started up the South Rim. I don’t know if it’s because I have been riding other mesas or if it was pedaling off the angst associated with working, but I just wanted to ride. I don’t know if I was smiling as there was no GoPro attached to my handlebars, but I felt like I was smiling.
Of course, there was a lot of rolling over rocks and down the rocks and up the rocks and turning right and then left and then doing it all over again. I showed Z how the Alliance rides the trail and he showed me how to roll down some big stuff. Like the photo above. I didn’t think it was gonna happen, but started to pull out my phone just in case. From where I stand to where Z is in the picture is a good 30+ foot roller. I was impressed.
We finished up the South Rim and gobbled up the North before returning to the truck. The stoke was high. We rode fast and hard and despite the fact that every moment I felt like my legs were going to explode, I just wanted to ride. It was a perfect ride.
Did I mention I fucking love to ride my bike?
P. L. and R.
