So it's been a couple of years since my last post. Riding my bike has still been a main stay in my life. Last week it was crazy beautiful and perfect riding weather.


Unfortunately I seem to be having some issues with my shoulder so no riding. Now it's rainy crappy weather and well my shoulder still hurts. Think I'll just have to "ride through it". This summer I hope to go on some longer rides going on different trails. That being the case I need to start doing longer rides.
I read a poem that Nikki Giovanni wrote about biking. She feels that riding a bike is a metaphor for life. Riding a bike is about balance and trust. If you want to read more refer to the interview with Bill Moyers.
I loved the poem.



"Midnight poems are bicycles


Taking us on safer journeys

Than jets

Quicker journeys

Than walking

But never as beautiful

A journey

As my back

Touching you under the quilt



"Midnight poems

Sing a sweet song

Saying everything

Is all right



"Everything

Is

Here for us

I reach out

To catch the laughter



"The dog thinks

I need a kiss



"Bicycles move

With the flow

Of the earth

Like a cloud

So quiet

In the October sky

Like licking ice cream

From a cone

Like knowing you

Will always

Be there



"All day long I wait

For the sunset



"The first star

The moon rise



"I move

To a midnight

Poem

Called

You

Propping

Against

The dangers"

a thousand miles begins with a single ride

Well today about 4 o'clock I finally met my goal of a thousand miles for this year. I went back and read the blogs. The ebb and flow of the blogs coinciding with my job. I am so glad I kept a record of the rides.( Thank you Steve I would not have kept track of the rides in a blog and some days even riding period without your pushing me!) And thank you to my sister Liz and her husband Dennis and really all my family and friends for being awsome cheerleaders. As I read I relived the rides and it felt like flashes of my year unwinding before me. Some rides were glorious others were funny some were bittersweet. Like my life I guess a smattering of the good and not so good. We go on in spite of the crappy weather and disappointments because of those days when our soul shouts out "I am blessed to be alive at this very moment".



I rode on the trail today and as usual it was lovely. Hard to believe it's the first of October and we are having 80 degree days. It some what makes up for the nasty rainy windy June. A few weeks ago Steve on I went on a trip through the Bitterroot Mountains to walk in the the footsteps of Lewis and Clark and the Nez Perce Indians at the exact same day 205 years ago to the day(Steve's bucket list) . We traveled along three different rivers,the Clearwater, Selway and the Lochsa. Having made a stop at a museum we saw a " boat", a canoe made of a single log similar to the one that Lewis and Clark rode in their final journey to the Pacific Coast. Now what do you say does that have to do with today's ride? Well at Mirabeau a bunch of Kayakers got out of the river . For some reason I thought of that wild and necessary ride of Lewis and Clark. Today we do not have to travel in the river and for that matter even close to it to get to our destinations. Yet we are drawn to the river. It feeds our modern need to feel connected to nature. A river that gave this area life long before we arrived. It has fed my soul for the last 9 months and given birth to hope and health.

980 and counting

So it was another 80 degree Fall day. Most unnatural for this particular season of mostly rainy weather. Everything is still growing and blooming . Well maybe not as gang busters as say the middle of August. I'm like those plants struggling to eek out the fruits of this lovely weather and yes I am moving slower and don't quite have the pace of those summer rides but I am still riding. I remember those spring posts where I stated that I would never ride in the wind and today friends to quote Christopher Robin was "blustery". I said that I was strictly a fair weather rider. So the closer you get to the goal of a 1000 miles and the waning days of really great weather and it is a whole new ball game. Hard as it is to ride after work the thought of winter and no riding spurred me on. After I got out of the car and was nearly blown over I started taking off my helmet and then caught myself. So even though it was only ten miles it was a blustery one.

Now that I have ridden from 4- 6 ish I have encountered the "evening regulars" on the trail and it almost makes up for missing the morning folks. But not quite.

I am thinking about the last 20 miles and wondering where it will be and how I will feel when I reach that milestone?

Fall serenity

So last week I got in two rides one on Wednesday. I canceled physical therapy and chose not to got to an evening meeting. The ride was lovely as usual. The closer you get to sundown the more of those nasty no sees ums come out and some have definitely ended up in my nose and ears. It is all good however. I am so close to my goal of a 1000 miles. Every bit of my life is scheduled now so although the end goal is still ever present the therapeutic nature of the rides are exemplified.This ride added 16 miles and that put me at 942.

This weekend was so freaking beautiful. Saturday I had a class in the morning and my "plan' was to ride on the trail towards Post Falls due to all the action on the trail towards town after the class that is. Well my bike tires needed air and I ran out of timeas I needed to get to the class. Steve wanted to head downtown to Spokane Oktoberfest.So I thought well I wont get a ride in today. So I took my time visiting with friends something have not done enough of lately. Got home at 2 ish and a change in plans. Which is fine. I ended up on the trail to Post Falls. It was nice. It is not my favorite part of the Centennial Trail. But it was interesting to see the progress on the two major construction projects by our house. My sister and her husband rode from Post Falls to Coeur D' Alene and I wish I could have gone with them.

The cool thing that happened on this ride was that I rode right past a coyote on the trail . Four feet away. This is the second time that has happened since I have been riding in the same place.

How do I explain these encounters? I rode past a few feet and then paused and turned to look. I got the feeling he was thinking friend? or foe? dinner? I just marvel at these creatures. I did not feel threatened at all as there was no growling or menacing moves on the coyote's part. It was all just about being curious ...who are you or better yet what are you?

This ride put me at 955.



All week long the weather promises to be "summer like" I only have stuff scheduled for Wednesday and Thursday. So today I added another 15 which puts me at 970.

I had non stop classes today and three of them were definitely challenging ones. So the ride was especially lovely. Am already worried about those nasty cold days where I will be unable to ride. Need a plan.

1000 miles are so very close.

I never regret....

I went 15 miles on labor day and kayaked with Steve in the afternoon on the river. Double whammy fun and then a family dinner. Labor day was packed with FUN. that put me at 901 yahoo!



Which brings me to this last weekend.

Matt my son came home and we ended up going on the Hiawatha Trail with my sister Liz and her husband, Dennis his daughter Sasha and granddaughter Taylor , my sister's son Bryan and his wife Charlotte and the youngest member of our group Bry and Char's son Reese. It was glorious. The ride is really all about the scenic vistas that truly take your breathe away. It was my second time on the trail and the first time through the mile long long tunnel. It was Taylor's first long ride, Bryan, Charlotte, Reese, and Sasha had not been on this historic and breathe takingly beautiful trail. It boggles the mind when you think about cutting through these mountains on a bike and all the lives that were lost to create this railroad track and then the genius in reusing this unused rail bed as a bike trail. I wonder what some of these old timers in the pictures on the trail would think of it's current use? Today I feel blessed that we had this opportunity to ride through this mountain and see a world we might have never seen. Which brings me to two "old timers" with out which I would have not been able to ride. First Steve who put my tires on my old cross bike and got down and filled up Matt's tires. And of course Dennis who loaded up 6 bikes and organized this ride for our family. Lots of stress getting all the schedules worked out but I hope he feels loved and appreciated by all the family, It was his and Liz's dream to organize a ride on this trail. Who knows next time we might have the whole Mahar, McGaughy , Davis family.



Which brings me to today. I rode another 10 miles which puts me at 926. It is hard to do the big 20 miles rides these days. I average about 10- 12 miles an hour. I was thinking tonight of all the time I have spent on the trail. Roughly 92 hours since January. I started thinking about regrets. Mostly what I do not regret. This is my list:

I do not regret planting flowers the roses bloomed only once but they were lovely.

I do not regret any bike rides. All of that time made me feel full, of life, of hope.

I never regret any time I spend with people I love. No matter how busy I am those moments with family and friends are precious.

Was I being productive or useful or creating something while riding? I don't know but I know that I see the world differently and every time I ride alone or with people I breathe easier and a new layer has been added to my life.

long time no see

So it looks like I have not been doing a very good job blogging. However I have some good excuses.
August is back to school time with classes and getting the library ready and I took a trip to Bellingham to celebrate my sister's 60th birthday and my niece's wedding shower.

So let's see I have had some fun rides since I last blogged. On the second to the last Saturday I went on the Fish Lake Trail with my sister Liz, my friends Carol and Bob and my friend Drew.
Carol and Bob were worried about their mountain bikes being too slow and they .... kicked mine and Drew's butts! That was 15 miles
Then I went on one last sort of sad ride on the last Wednesday of August on the trail. Yes I should have been at school but this was going to be the last time I could ride during the week and see all the "regulars"before going back to school.
This going back to school week was stressful and I did not get to ride until Friday and had two major crying jags. I REALLY NEED TO EXERCISE! So Friday in spite of wanting to go straight home and drink a glass of wine I got on my bike for a short 15 mile ride. Bringing my total last night to 860.

Today however Steve and I went on one of the most beautiful parts of the Trail of the CouerD'Alenes. We started at Rose Lake and went about 13 miles towards Harrison. The weather was lovely as we started early so the crazy wind that is currently raging had not started.
What I loved about this ride: It is flat and the scenery is lush and breath taking. It was a new part of the trail that I had not been on. We saw a moose and a bald eagle , and blue heron adding to my list of critters I have encountered while riding my bike.
That brings my total to 886 and I am definitely closing in on a thousand miles. Next week we might be going on the Hiawatha Trail and Matt will be here so it will be fun to ride with him.

810...

Today I crossed over the 800 mark so yea!
Started out a little late today on account of a new software program that I downloaded yesterday so I got sidetracked.
It was overcast so I thought it wont be hot as blue blazes however clouds can be deceiving.
Hmm well maybe I'll just do a little 10 mile ride today. Then I got to cruising along and I saw the man with the the name tag, friendly lady with the aging wiener dog and the cute couple who walk every day and of course assorted speedy bikers in spandex. and the next thing you know I was at Argonne trail head for a potty break.
The hot sun makes the pine trees smell lovely. The katydids are singing their last song of summer and I got to thinking about the spandex crowd. I admit I am jealous of their skinny toned bodies and even their speed. Do I want to be that skinny and fast some day?Yea I want I want to be that skinny and fast !
But for now I am glad that I have had the chance to ride along the river and experience the transformation that the seasons have created along the trail. Most of the people on the trail are happy to be there and their friendly ways make me feel glad to be alive. Even the ones that are obnoxious like the spandex crowd and the ones that just can't wrap their head around the whole notion of share the trail or stay to the right I enjoy. It's like life really. A mixed bag the teaches us patience and forces us to laugh at the oddities of humanity.

190 miles to go. I hope that I make a 1000 by the start of school that would be just too cool however I don't know if I will make it due to getting ready for school and a visit to Bellingham next week.