The storm that passed through this morning has continued to send waves of heavy rains and thunderstorms to us throughout the afternoon. Luckily there was a nice break in the action during the early afternoon, so I geared up and headed out on my mountain bike.
As I pedaled up Railroad Grade I notice that waterfalls that had long been dry were now flowing again and with vigor. The sound of roaring water flowing down the canyon was awesome. I passed waterfall after waterfall, and stopped at each in order to remember the scene that I haven’t seen in years. We’ve been in a drought pattern for several years now, and I also haven’t been riding or hiking on the mountain during the rains, so I haven’t seen the waterfalls flowing in earnest for years. It was fun for me to see them flowing again. I used to live right next to a creek with waterfalls…I felt lucky to be reasonably dry as I rode up the mountain today. I was thinking that I'd ride up to East Peak today so that I could take photos from the summit of Mount Tamalpais. I seem to consistently want to do that, but by the time that I had reached Double Bow Knot the winds were whipping again, and I mean whipping. The gusts were at least to 40 mph, and I simply wasn't willing to risk going any further up the mountain in those conditions. So I changed my plans and rode over to the Headlands via the Panoramic Highway. The highway is typically deserted when the rains come, and today the highway was all mine for the three or four miles over to the entrance to the Coyote Ridge fire road.
I hopped onto the Coyote Ridge fire road and began riding up the long and winding trail. The sun was peeking out here and there, and there were huge cumulous clouds everywhere, and I was simply happy to be dry and slightly protected from the winds. I've grown to enjoy this route through the Headlands because of the views that are outstanding in all directions.
I rode over to the Coastal Trail where I began my descent into Tennessee Valley. As I rounded one of the upper corners of the trail there was a large and very healthy Coyote standing there. Keep in mind, I was going somewhere in the neighborhood of 25+ mph at the time. He took one look at me and bolted down the trail, but I was going faster than he, and I came up on his backside pretty quickly. He had nowhere to go at first, so he kept going down the trail along side of me. What an amazing treat for me to be so close to this coyote. He took one last look over at me and then at his first opportunity he bolted up the hill and away from me. I stopped so that I could watch him. He was out of breath and sitting down, so I had a chance to take a dozen or so photos of him. They're really beautiful creatures. It made my day.
I rode back home with the old feeling that I'd had some 19 or 20 years ago when I first started mountain biking in the Headlands. I was close to nature and its natural beauty. I also rode home thinking that I was lucky for a second day in a row, but here's the problem, tomorrow’s storm is supposed to make the last three look like a drizzle in comparison. So wish me luck tomorrow. I'll be following the radar closely. The photo to the right is the cell that rolled through while I was writing this post, and it dumped rain and hail. I'd guess that a half inch of rain fell within 15 minutes.
Distance: 17.21 miles
Calories burned: 1,425
Time: 1:46:20 hours
Elevation gain: 1,831 ft
Garmin Connect ride details: http://connect.garmin.com/activity/22736595
0 comments:
Post a Comment