It was looking like rain for the after work hours on Thursday, so I slipped out of the shop early to get in a ride while the roads were still dry. There was a strong wind blowing in ahead of the approaching front. As I was pedaling up the last climb I saw what I thought was a sure sign that spring really is here – someone was flying a kite at the top of the hill. Then the kite flapped its wings and I realized it was a hawk hovering there at treetop level, riding the steady breeze at the crest. It took me a few minutes to get up to where it was and in that time it flapped its wings maybe a dozen times. As soon as I drew level it turned and flew alongside me for as I rode the ridge top. Then when the road finally started to turn down the hawk landed in a tree and watched me go. It probably doesn’t sound like much to read about it here on the internet, but it was one of those magical moments that can only happen when you’re in the right place at the right time, and on a bicycle.
Part 2: The Dog
Eric, Josh and I went out for a ‘cross bike ride on Sunday. It was a pristine day – 50 degrees, sunny with a few wispy clouds, and just as clear as they come. Eric said “I’ve been a bad boy lately, and I need to be punished”, so we headed down to
She sniffed at it, must have figured I was OK and went tearing after Josh, who was up ahead (nothing new there). She trailed him closely for a while, then trotted next him, then ran ahead and easily beat him to the top of the climb. That performance earned her a few hearty head pats as we regrouped and refueled. Mistake. When Eric tried to shoo her home so we could continue our ride, she just sniffed his shoe and wagged her tail. Apparently she had joined our pack. So we rode and she ran alongside. For miles. I started to feel bad about enticing her to stray so far from home. At first I hoped if we went fast enough she’d get tired and turn around. It’s a long plateau up on the mountain top, and the unplowed dirt roads were boggy with snow and snowmelt. At times she was running at full tilt with her tongue nearly dragging the ground, but we just couldn’t go fast enough to drop that dog. By the time we reached a downhill steep enough that she couldn’t keep up, she was so many miles from home that we thought she might never find her way back. So we waited for her.
She was starting to tucker out at this point. Doggie bonk. Eric fed her some Hammer Gel (!) and encouraged her to keep going. We changed our planned route so that we’d go back by where we had picked her up. Every once in a while we’d pass a house or a cabin and she would pause and look longingly at it as if she was tempted to make it her new home. By now she was limping a little. I’m sure her paws were sore from running so far in that snow and gritty mud. But she was no quitter and eventually, more than 2 hours later, we led her back to where she had joined us. And she kept following us. Finally we found someone who recognized her as being a pooch from that neighborhood and he held her there so we could ride away. What a pup! I was half expecting (and maybe even hoping a little) to find her on my doorstep the next morning. Or maybe in the garage, curled up next to my muddy bike.
So if you live near
P.S.: And if she has developed an appetite for energy gel, that’s Eric’s fault.
