Runs such as our spring and fall mountain runs as well as the Fest always seem to take a few days or a week or so for me to get my head back in a clear way of thinking. Kinda of a "run hangover", and not nessasarly an alcohol hangover either. I have such a good time with my brothers and friends that coming down takes awhile.
With the Fest and the mountain run still fresh in my thoughts, along with some other things going on in my world lately, I was looking forward to the weekend. A ride up in the mountains would be great, just a solo ride, no one but me and the wind.
After work Friday I stopped and filled the bike up with gas and had it ready for Saturday morn, I like to roll when the time comes and stopping for gas the first thing kinda fucks with the mind flo of leaving out early on a ride.
Saturday morns temps were around 52-54degrees, jacket temps...love this time of year. A hot mug of coffee was inorder to kick the cool morin' off. Sitting on the porch having my coffee and watching Junior running around like a crazy dog acting a fool, and getting ready to roll out on a ride,well,...I live for this stuff.
Rolled the ol' girl out of the basement and fired her up. Listening to her warm-up while I was getting my jacket and other shit ready was like a junkie waiting on a fix...heart pace picking up a little with a tinge of anxiety. I give Junior a big bowl of food and fresh water, and get me a big ol wet smooch from him, "that" I have no choice in...he'll lay one on ya. Reach in the basement fridge and grab a cold beer, a couple of pulls and done. Straddle the bike, tap it in gear and outa the bottom of the driveway I go, the heart starting to ease into a more mellow rythym, and the ride was on.
The shovel really liked the cool fresh air as I was blasting along the counrty backroads. A few places I could twist it a little hard and let it eat, and then lay it over into some good sweeping turns. Damn I was feeling good. At this time I had no thoughts, just feeling. These are the times that I don't even think about what I'm doing, riding is such a natural thing to do that leaning, turning, shifting, braking...it just happens. Total peace. This must be what it feels like to fly.
As I ride I have no destination farther than I can see ahead in the road. I do know that on rides like these that the mountains always have a pull on me. The mountains and the water. Somewhere along the ride I'll have my toes in the water, and it'll probaly be mountain water.
The road winding up thru the mountains ran along the Occoee River/white water. This early on a cool fall morning they'res not but a few kayaker's on the water, and very little traffic on the winding two lane, and only a few bikes. I know later in the day it will get a little more traiffic and people out, but for now I had the run of the roads at my own chosen pace.
About half way up the Oocoee river I decided to take Hwy 30 across the mountain to Reliance river. The twolane road alongside Oocoee is a pretty good road to ride, sweeping turns with some nice s-curves throw'd in for fun. 30 is two lane also but it's kinda narrow and quite a few 2nd gear turns, and is like a black snake running over the mountain. Beautiful place to take it easy and enjoy the fall colors. It is also the road to where I found Junior. Matter of fact once I stop at the little store on the way and pick up a couple of beers and something to eat I plan on heading a little past the spot where i found junior to have my lunch. They'res this over look up on the mountain and you can look down in the gourge to your left and see the Reliance river (rapids) and it makes a turn right under you and to the right it rolls off into the distance. The sound of the rapids can be heard where I sat. Pretty cool place.
So, I got my food and beer in the saddle bags and I'm headed farther back in the mountains, way back. After I left Oocoee I turned off a nice twolane onto a narrow twolane, now I turn off onto a twolane with no lines on it, almost a gravel road, and then it does turn to gravel. Like I said...waaaay back in the mountains. They're is this place almost at the end of the road where they will haul rafters up to in a schoolbus so they can raft down the river. Well one of those busses had gotten behind me and I thought I'd just pull over and let them by. I pull over into a little place by the river to let them by. Just so happens this is the place where I found Junior. Some of you have read my story of that day with junior, so this is "the" place. Get this. Just as I roll to a stop........from the bushes here comes a little pup running out, it looked just like Junior at that age, except this pup was healthy. Just for a second I thought "OH SHIT!! NOT AGAIN". But then from a path next to where the pup came from a little boy (5 or 6 years old) and a little girl about the same age and followed by their mom and dad came out. It was their pup. Thank God. I already saw me putting him in my jacket and taking Junior a little buddie home.
I made it to the top of the mountain and sat there listening to the rapids and all of mother nature, drank my two beers and had my lunch. Looked over at the shovel and she looked right at home. Is it just me or do bikes add a little something extra to any setting you put them in? It just looked natural. Maybe because I saw a part of me in that old bike. Whichever, I was feeling good. Sat there for an hour or so. No place to go, no place to be.
Rolling off the backside of the mountain I took some country roads that would eventualy bring me back on the Oocooee river but farther up the road from where I turned off, but I would be going back down the same road in the other direction. First I did a ride over by Copperhill, a quaint little mountain/country town, to get a couple of beers. I thought of swinging over by naturalhorses place but...I was a loner that day. Beer in bags and on the road again.
Now here's a little meeting I had with a fellow on my way back down Oocoee. I'll title it....
"Different but the same we are"
My story puts the beer drinking closer than it really was. It was a couple of hours between beers. I do limit myself when I'm riding.
So I'm looking for the right spot to pull over and partake one of my beers, or both. I find this little spot off the side of the road back in a small clearing by the whitewater. I pull up and roll the bike back down into the clearing and pull my beers from the bags. Sitting there enjoy a beer and letting my mind flo along with the water when up comes this old greybeard dude. He says "hows it going?" and I look around at the water,sky and held up my beer and smiled and said..just fuckin beautiful. He asked about my bike, what year and the such, and said it was a sweet bike. Thank you I said. Well, I know I smiled when he said it and we were both looking at the ol' girl so yeah I said thank you, just in my own way. We bullshitted for a little while, and about life in general, the dude was enjoying life, I can dig that.
A pack of about 20 or so bikes passed up on the road and it got his attention. He ask me about riding and if i road with a group as such that just passed. And I said no, most of the time I ride alone, sometimes with a couple of friends but mostly alone. He said he was retired and has been traveling all over the U.S. doing his thing, and he also didn't like to run in a crowd. He said he like to pull over to the edge of the water and have lunch or a beer or two, and just enjoy life at his own pace. He was a pretty cool old fucker he was. Kinda mirrow'd my thoughts on life pretty close. After a few words it was time to hit the road again. I tap the bike into gear and he dug the paddle into the water. Yep, thats right, the old greybeard was a kayaker. Doing his thing not so different than I do my mine, just different modes of doing it.
I always say "everybody brings something to the table of life", take the time to listen to others stories of their lives,...you just might find a kindred spirit in them. Or maybe learn something about yourself.
Two days and around 500 miles of beautiful riding last weekend,.......Life Is Good.
The vids below are of that ride. Unedited and ruff. oh well.
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