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| The annual trek above the flag in Cold Water Canyon |
Not the hardest ride....
I was trying to remember when it first started. One thing I do remember is why it started - the flag above North Ogden just before election day and through Veterans Day. I grew up in the home of a war veteran, surrounded by by war veterans. Most of my life my dad rarely spoke of his time in battle. I heard countless stories about his time in "the service" as he put it - enough to know it wasn't for me. It wasn't until he was much older in life and facing his own grim battle with the "big-C" that he really started to opened up and told of the horrors and intense moments he experienced in battle. A few years before that, I had an interaction with another vet from that war - a survivor of Iwo. How it all came about is another story for another day, but I can tell you he told me of the most personal fear and experiences of a Marine coming ashore during the dreaded second wave at Iwo Jima, February 1945. As he started into sharing his experience, he stopped briefly and said "I don't know why I'm telling you this. I've not even told my own family about this", but he continued. It was simply amazing - he was telling me as though it happened only the day before. In his own words, he was frightened from the day they shipped out of San Diego until they docked back in San Francisco maybe a year later. He described laying in the hot volcanic sand as a stitch of machine gun bullets rolled across the line of men he was with, hitting the guy on one side and jumping over him before going down the line further - killing his training partner laying right there. A day or so later the same thing happened again, killing the Marine on his other side. This man was humble and never took a moment in life for granted. I was never cut from that cloth and couldn't live up to that courage and valor. Heroes in the truest sense. So riding up this single track is nothing at all when you consider what others have done to make it possible for others to have the opportunity to live free. A few years ago, while still "gainfully employed, a group of us were discussing the event that led to this entire flag thing above North Ogden. This fellow that has never once experienced the crack and bang of high-volume, high-power rifle fire coming in while down range, had the audacity to make a derogatory comment about the soldier that was killed in this particular event. My natural instinct was to climb his tree, but the influence of those vets that taught me also reminded me to respect another man's opinion - regardless. As hard as it was, I walked away, as nobody needed to be defended.......chicken shit!
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| Watching for ice.... |
Knowing ones limits and when to walk away
As was the case in the previous story, I have learned when to walk away - something that has come with age and a few "falls" along the way. As the season turns cold, patches of ice can easily catch one off guard - and that can be a disaster. Having a front wheel washout on ice can drive your handle bars into a thigh, or worse yet break a big bone. Either way it can result in something that can finish you - like period. All this in the name of trying to get a good ride in - because I still can. Somehow I still haven't learned my lessons well enough. A couple years ago I busted an ankle in a spot I didn't even need to be in to begin with. The simplest of things and places can turn on you in a second - and then life sucks. It is said there are two types of cyclist; those that have crashed and those that will crash. Truth is, mountain biking is proving to be rather dangerous, as crashes can be very unforgiving. Virtually every person I have ridden with over the years have experienced this first hand. This past summer there were numerous rescues, including a couple fatalities just in this area. So yeah.....knowing ones limits and when to walk away is something we all need to learn - one way or the other.
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| Before it got colder.... |
Perspective
Three hour rides have a tendency to provide more time to sort out the things that clutter my mind. And then there are those moments that are just so quiet that I can hear that feedback from the 1983 Urea Heap / Def Leppard concert - and it was a lot more than what turned out to be the loudest concert I had ever heard. I mean my teeth hurt for a week. Still, perspective is a funny thing, as enough time seems to reduce the intensity and urgency of a previous crisis, or event. Kind of funny how we often act with an impulse that we would have never planned in a million years - but here we are. Somehow we still land on our feet - somehow. Other times we have the scars to remind us of our moments of stupidity - if we are even that lucky. Call it maturity, or maybe just life - given enough time our perspective does change. As I look back at that particular period in my life. I had no idea what I was doing and am lucky I lived to tell the tale. Moreover, I'm lucky I didn't do more damage. I can't imagine everyone has a similar story that can be compared -but I sure the hell do. Ever wonder what you would do or say if you could go back to that time in your life and tell yourself at that time, what could make a difference? Truth is, I had plenty of people telling me what I would have told myself had I the opportunity to go back and relay that message from the future. Too many times we are just to full of ourselves to listen. I wonder when that changes.....
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| Darn cold, but beautiful. |
Rearranged and Cool Changes
Sometimes things in life take a little time to truly appreciate. Other times a little practice, persistence and patience can yield yet a better version of ourselves. Went out for a ride today - maybe around mid day when the temps were in the upper 30's. At 08:00 this morning it was still only 18 degrees. Going back to the ice watch - days like this has ice in places all day. Cold enough that I was sweating through the layers, while freezing in the extremities. A totally beautiful day, coming home in the shade of the mountain, making the final two miles colder yet. It only gets better with age and practice.
Take a pull for Reed. Ride hard while you still can......
