One of the things that is unique(ish) about my biking is that I’m in it as much (or even more) for the sights and memories (and history) as I am for the exercise. I really shy away from riding with the gonzo-beast-mode-style rider. When someone drops a note on one of my rides posted on Strava saying, “hey, we should get together and ride someday,” the first thing I’ll do is look at their typical ride. If they can do a 60-miler averaging 2+ miles-per-hour faster than me, I’m out. And believe me, that’s most of the guys I’m following on Strava.
On the other hand, if they can’t do more than 15 miles in a ride, I’m out too. So the whole thing narrows the field of “qualified” riders by quite a bit. I mean, I’m easy-going, but maybe not the easiest person to ride with. I remember some years ago cutting through base on a ride (back when I thought 15-20 miles was a big deal) when I came across someone riding up and down one of the base’s bigger hills. He was new to the area and still didn’t know where to go off-base, so I offered to show him a few roads. And of course, some of my roads aren’t really the kind on which you would take such a “delicate” bicycle as the one this guy had (I had made up my mind rather early in the trip that he was kind of a bike-snob). On one of my typical farm roads, I could tell he was a little angry with me; and as soon as we got onto a smoother surface, he got in front and just took off.
The deal here is this — I like to go far and explore new places, but I also like to stop a lot for pictures. Even when I’m in a bit more of a hurry, telling myself, “hey, I’ve really got to get home soon,” I’ll always reply with, “oh, just one more” when it comes to some vista or point of interest that’s just begging for a shot. Thing is, seldom do the pictures do the place any justice. I have to wonder sometimes why I bother.
Except for this morning. Sometimes that one shot makes a difference.
On the last leg of my morning ride, I decided to stretch it a bit by crossing a temporary “bridge” at a construction site for a highway exit. As I crossed, the view to the right caught my eye. I took three shots, and the one below was the best. I hope you like it:
I have a folder somewhere where I’ve saved all of my favorite shots over the years of riding. It hasn’t pulled in very many entries lately, but this one should make it. It’s been a while…
It’s okay not to take photos. Just seeing and soaking it all in without framing a shot is reward enough. That is a nice shot though. Glad you shared it.
but maybe stopping to take the photo is just what i need to do. i think one of my biggest problems is the feeling that i’ve always got to be somewhere sometime, when maybe if i just sat back and said “it’ll wait” every so often, i might relax a bit more.