sanctum
last week, on a quick mid-day ride on singletrack that's quickly disappearing under a layer of orange, red, brown and yellow leaves, I stopped to find my way, the path hard to discern through the stand of mature maples and beech - and found myself entranced by a sound rarely heard - the quiet rustling of leaves as they fell in a steady shower from the branches, 30, 40, 50 feet up. all around me they fell, a steady shower of color, backlight by another bluebird day, shining and fluttering to the ground. in these moments, a little bit of peace is found, a sanctum from the daily grind. my church and my god. the camera, at home as usual, wouldn't have captured the moment as it was as much inside as out. instead, the moment sits in my mind, to be dwelled upon as the stresses of the week mount - and w/everything to be done, the calm of that moment will be called upon a lot this week.
a long fall walk w/jenn and seneca yesterday morning, then a cpl hr bike ride together in the afternoon, seneca in the chariot, smiling and laughing, pushing me to sprint the hills, "faster daddy, faster!" "WHHEEEEEE!" we took the adventurous route, just the 3 of us on one-lane class 4 roads, the leaves bursting w/color. what a great day. another moment to put away and dwell upon during the stresses of the week.
a(nother) BIG Kahuna!
my head is still clearing, my legs still aching. 103 riders set-out to conquer the fabled trails of boston's north shore; crippler, ancient line, g-spot (to name a few). beverly to gloucester all on singletrack, not a lot of miles, but this isn't ordinary singletrack. the night before andy, thom, daren, brad, ken and i decided emptying andy's fridge of beer, including the hard lemonades that have been sitting waaaay in the back since '89, was a great idea - and it was - until 7a the next morning - after hitting the sheets at 4. but we were all smiles on this one. even when running into the woods to rid ourselves of the poison or managing bonks that became frequent and harsh come afternoon. these are the trails - and the guys - i learned to ride a bike with. insanely technical rock gardens that resemble bouldering fields more than mtnbike trails, mingled w/flowing ribbons of dirt punctuated by steep climbs and brown-eyed brake descents. if your stomach isn't against the back of your seat, you're not far enough back. awesome stuff. we had all sorts of bikes out there - from fully rigid ss, to 6" travel, we "rocked" the kahuna, arriving nearly last to lobsta'land for the haddock we'd been dreaming about since 7a... good times. thanks for another great ride! and thanks to andy (and his neighbor's patience) for the pre-kahuna party! can't wait for next yr.
6hrs of windshield time was well worth it.
9a head count. montserrat train station. beverly.
daren. all smiles, to the end.
brad survived the biggest, baddest bonk ever conceived, but he found the power to sprint when he saw the lobsta'land sign!
thom. ss. rigid. root66 series champ. dreamy.
red rocks, great view.
lobsta' land!
