My mistress winter has taken me south to new trails. Trails seldom ridden and others familiar, yet new. With all that the festering neon distraction has to offer most of humanity, I am reminded that I am not the "most" part of that failed equation. I can't say "Never" when I say that I'll never live in Phoenix again, but my time away from the city has convinced me that it's a mass of humanity that is festering and is a significant distraction from the true matters of the heart. The matters that create the passion, the art and the love within all of us; they must be followed, or we die inside a slow death. I am reborn....once again.
On my path, I've started going long once again. Let my unicorn socks be the proverbial gauntlet thrown to the ground...and this, my letter of intent. I will do The 300 once again. This time, I have plans.......plans provided by The Mindful Athlete.
Looking up and climbing where you dream can get you away from the city and take you to some amazing places if you only dare to dream big enough....and pack a lunch for the effort.
These are new places where the gusts of wind and time have left the Arizona Trail quenched from the effort and ready for something new to make it's mark. My tires leave their imprint over the wind washed and rain dimpled dust left fresh from yesterdays storm. Climbing up here in search of my dream, I leave my mark on this trail again, for the first time, and it too leaves its mark on me.....smiles and feelings of amazement fill my soul with every twist and turn......
I climb up over a ridge wondering what is on the other side only to find beauty as expected, yet one which feels new. The amazement I feel in the snow white needles of a cactus in the flat light leave me searching for the words.....
Other button cacti appear on the trail. If not for a feeling that I needed to slow down to soak it all in, I would have missed this beauty with the pink coral center.....
.....the heart of which becomes infinitely complex the more I focus and look within....the intertwined spines support each other in ways I tried to count, until I give up from the futility and realize that to appreciate the indescribable beauty of some things is good enough....just enjoy the moment that has chosen you to be here.
Trails that I've ridden before, also appear to be washed in a newness that have otherwise escaped my notice on past rides.....
The giants of the desert stand against a blue sky; a sky punctuated with the moisture flowing up from the south and crashing into the topography of a sky island at 9000ft asl......
The trail that I've ridden before, is now the most velcro-like, tacky surface I've ever ridden. The faster I go, the more it grips me, holding me close to her surface. I lean my handlebars over in ever tighter turns and yet I can't break my tires loose....she has a grip on me like never before and I yell out in amazement with every thrill bending turn around cholla and shindagger studded cliff bands....
These rides are the ones you never want to stop....where your food and water stores run low because you go out for another detour....and another. My mistress winter looks over it all, an icy redoubt from on high; pines frosted from the storm and shrouded in a movable veil of clouds and light...and inspiration. Never exposing herself for too long or completely, her mystery changes with every turn of the trail.
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