July in the desert we crave rain. It's like a whole region is dehydrated, head achy for lack of water ... cranky. The plants look starved. The desert vibrates with heat ..... until the rain. It was late this year, but the moisture is finally here. Last night, the skies opened up broadly across the desert and this morning .... well, things looked different.
First, the scary part of the monsoons. The rain comes so fast and heavy, the desert and roads and systems just can't handle it. So, while I did everything right to be ready to be out the door by 5:15 this morning for the Easy Peasy Ride .... A friend called at 10 pm because she was unable to get to her house nearby .... even though they were in an F350 pick-up -- the police wouldn't let them into the waters. Plus, she had her grandkids, so even if they would be allowed to try it -- is that the time? So, at 10 pm (well past my easy-peasy curfew) the phone rang and I told them to of course come over. The girls were put to bed and we chatted until about midnight (I knew the ride was toast). Of course, a ride always comes second to helping a friend .... No question.
But, I still wanted to climb for a few reasons .... One ... my cycling friend still thinks we are riding to the top and because I just had my bike refit and I wanted to see how it would do. But, because I had a late start, I headed up the mountain a bit to try a new part of the mountain.
The fit was perfect -- if your riding seems difficult ... get a professional to look at how you sit on the bike. In just a few minutes, my bike was transformed into a bike set up for how I ride (note, I had my bike professionally fitted when purchased, but the seat didn't stay in place and they were setting my up for triathlons, not long distance riding).
Here are some thoughts from today's ride....
1. Rain makes the desert dance. I swear I could hear the plants singing ... and the power of the water flowing off the mountain was inspiring.
2. Little things, like my new buff headware, do small things like keep the sweat out of the eyes are the difference between success and failure.
3. Who knew my right leg was shorter than my left......
The amazing part of the ride was not the views (which were fabulous); not the exercise (which was tough) ... But instead being able to witness the rebirth of the desert through the addition of water. Lots and lots of water.
It's amazing when you can smell the conversion of the forest trees as you pass. But, after a good rain, you can smell them and, if you are focused, you can hear them too. I swear one group of pines was playing Boccie ball in the pines just below General Hitchcock Campground.
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