Day 184: Making it Over the Hump with Friends

Today I celebrated making it past the midway point in Riding to Recovery. I was fortunate enough to be riding with friends that have known me for a total of over 45 years combined. That’s pretty amazing given that there were only three friends that made it out for the ride. I may have been celebrating the halfway point in R2R, but I should have been celebrating the fact that I’ve kept these wonderful friends for so many years. I need to think more about that, because that's a really worthy milestone on which to reflect.

Today’s ride took place at Anadel State Park in Santa Rosa, CA. It’s a beautiful park that has embraced the idea of sharing the trails for all purposes. So you’ll have runners, equestrians, and cyclists using the same trails at the same time, and while most everyone gets along famously. We rode by people on horseback today that waved us on by after we had courteously stopped to let them pass. We had runner after runner come by us while delivering a friendly hello each time. It’s so refreshing to ride in a friendly and basically unrestricted environment. Marin is arguably the birthplace of mountain biking, and yet it's one of the most highly volatile mountain biking regions in the country, if not the world. It’s sad at one level, but on another, I think that things are changing albeit slowly.
 

I’d guess that of the 22 miles that we rode today, that 80 percent were on single track. There were technical sections, rock gardens to pick through, and sections of high-speed singletrack that could only bring smiles to everyone’s faces. We faced sloppy adobe clay, solid rock formations, wet roots covered in Coastal and Valley Oak tree leaves that have fallen for the season, and just about every other form of trail conditions. It was beautiful. The trees had moss growing on them, and the rich smell of organic materials permeated from the ground.

After circumventing much of the park we headed to the back side where we caught the singletrack trail that runs alongside the creek that flows from the lake’s dam that's in the belly of the valley. I wish that I knew the name of that valley. Does anyone care to answer that question? Once at the dam, we all took a break after what was a challenging climb. I even stopped for about 10 seconds to catch my breath. “C” passed me as I rested, but I wanted to get back on the bike so that I could catch up with him. I ultimately did catch up, but only after he fell onto some of the local rocks while riding a very costly carbon fiber Scott mountain bike. Phew! There was nothing broken on his bike…”C” was OK too.
 

Once that we all felt rested and had refueled on one thing or another, we headed towards my favorite trail that’s appropriately called the Cobblestone Trail. All of the trails at Anadel are named as they are. The Marsh Trail, Rough Trail, Cobblestone Trail, etc., they’re all named for what they represent. The Cobblestone Trail is nothing but fun and excitement. I was riding my full suspension bike today, and I’ve never ridden these trails with an FS bike. So where I used to carefully guide my bike through rocks and roots, today I just rolled right though them. I followed “C” who’s been riding FS bikes longer than I have, and he was flooring it, so I followed when I could and all the while constantly reminding myself that I need to let the bike do more work than I’m used to. I had a great time blasting down this trail today. We respectfully slowed for all of the hikers that we encountered, and yet we had a fun and safe descent back to our cars.

“M,” “C,” and “G,” thank you so much for sharing the day with me. I ride alone a lot, so it’s always a treat for me to ride with a group, and especially a group of people with whom I have a rich history. I met “G’ in Santa Cruz in 1983, “M” at WTB in Mill Valley in 1998, and “C” at the California Pedaler in 1999, so you can do the math on that. I’m fortunate to have so many people that have remained my friends throughout my life.

On a personal note, today marks the first day that I’m on the backside (halfway point) of my commitment to ride every day for one calendar year. The weight of the day required me to do some reflecting. I looked very carefully at where I’ve been, and what I’ve been through during the course of “N’s” alcoholism, and also all of the tragic family losses that I’ve sustained during the last decade. I looked at everything from my role in ‘N’s” alcoholism, to my loyalty and commitment to marriage, and then to my selfless commitment to my father during the last years of his life. I can see many things so clearly now. I couldn’t do that before, so I guess that I’m growing as I trudge through all of the “gifts” that I’ve been delivered during my life.

When I started my rides I was worried about even reaching 60 consecutive days of riding. I worried each time that I shared my riding commitment with others. I fretted over failure. “What if I don’t make it?” After four months of riding daily I was feeling pretty confident in terms of putting in a solid effort, but I was still wondering, and even doubting if I could make the whole journey. It was then that I broke my ribs in a random crash on a trail that I know like the back of my hand. And then there was the evil cold that’s been going around tha took a hold on me. I renjued my ribs twice, once during a couching attack, and once during another fall, and that made me wonder once again if I could make the whole journey. I ended up riding through while having broken ribs and the evil cold, and now I’m nearly full strength again. I couldn’t have done any this without the support that I’ve received from friends and family during the past year, and especially during the past six months. Thank you to all of you that have propped me up, and pushed me on to the next step. I have some dark winter months ahead of me, but for me, knowing that I have all of you along for the ride means the world to me!

Required listening for tonight is a song that appropriate sums things up for me as I'm writing my "personal note." Ironically, I never listen to these guys, and yet “N” loves them, but thanks to iTunes shuffle I heard this song tonight: Queens of the Stone Age: This Lullaby. This tune would have been an appropriate tribute to my marriage well over a year ago, so please read it’s lyrics with that in mind, or better yet, listen to the song. I've come a long way since those darks time...

Queens of the Stone Age, This Lullaby:

Where, Oh where have you been my love?

Where, Oh where can you be?

It's been so long, since the moon has gone

And oh what a wreck you've made me

Are you lost, over the oceans?

Are you there, up in the sky?

Until the return of my love

This lullaby

My hope is on the horizon

Every face, your eyes I can see

I plead and pray though each night and day

Our embrace is only a dream

And as sure as days come from moments

Each hour becomes a life's time

When she'd left, I'd only begun this lullaby

 

Distance: 22.64 miles

Calories burned: 3,470

Time: 2:20:58 hours

Elevation gain: 3,286 ft

Garmin Connect ride details: http://connect.garmin.com/activity/20796676