I went for a bike ride this afternoon, doing a 90-minute loop that took me on four different trails, up hills and down, over bumps and under bridges. It was, in two words, totally fab.
I could tell it was Spring by the face-fulls of gnats that kept flying into me as I huffed and puffed along the trail. They evaded my sunglasses to land in my eyes, zoomed right into my mouth, and even buzzed around inside my helmet, trapped. The gnats weren't totally fab, but I suppose a face-full of gnats is the price you pay for going that fast!
About 20 minutes into the ride, I hit a freak Spring rainstorm. The sky was blue and carefree--and then it was dark and menacing. First, little raindrops fell casually. No problem, I thought smugly. Then suddenly they were coming down harder and harder, pinging me in the back, arms, face, and legs. Attack! The crazy thing was, I could see where the rain cloud ended and the blue sky recommenced up ahead, and yet still I was getting wet. Eventually I either rode out of the cloud's way or it moved on of its own accord. When it was gone, everything smelled and felt delightfully fresh.
As I passed the half-way mark and began cruising down the Mount Vernon trail towards home, I had to stop and pull over for a few minutes. Look what I saw:
Fields of daffodils bordered the trail. They were bursting with life, waving their cheerful yellow heads at me and the other cyclists, the walkers, the runners, and even the commuters on the George Washington Parkway. They were shouting out to us, proclaiming, "IT'S SPRING!!!"
Behind them, the weeping willows, fuzzy with new tender leaves in the most vibrant green, waved their long arms at me in a gesture of good will as I passed.
The whole scene restored my spirit and made me feel alive and hopeful. Welcome Spring! And welcome many more fab bike rides! (Gnats not welcome.)
2 comments:
Those flowers are beautiful!!! That sounds so refreshing -I LOVE the rain (especially being from Washington)so I'm actually quite jealous of your ride in the rain... the gnats I can do without, though :)
I'm going through some major cherry blossom withdrawls. If you get a chance, please post pics of those too! Spring is still great in KS, but it's not quite VA great.
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