It had been fifteen years. As my first pedal strokes started turning over, the familiarity of the trail started flowing back, like that old friend who is always there in the background. The only sounds I heard were the birds singing there midsummer songs, the wind blowing through the trees, and my tires rolling along the trais. It was a warm day, at first a little too warm as my system readjusted itself to what was happening, but then after some rolling hills and moving in and out of the forest I got back into a rythm I had been missing. Although some of the trails were full of roots, rocks, logs, and other challenging terrain, my old skills started to come back to me, and in some places new ones seemed to emerge. I was cleaning lines that were a struggle the last time I had ridden them! Truth is, the tech that goes into a lot of new bikes is a big help. It certainly was during this ride.
The biggest difference between this ride and the way I rode this trail all of those years ago was now, instead of putting my head down and trying to see how fast I could ride these trails, I took my time and looked around at the flora and fawna. I noticed the beauty of the wilderness, maybe for the first time. It is hard for me to slow down on a bike, but thinking of all of the things I don't see while bombing through the woods is a good motivator.
I'm planning my next trip back to some other trails that I haven't ridden in years. Redescovering these trails made me want to ride all of the trails that I had ridden in the past. Hopefully, they're all still there.
