It’s been one of those weeks at work. The stress has been building and time to ride had been nil, so Thursday after work we made the time. As we’ve been working with a mortgage broker and now a realtor, things seemed to pile on quickly. When I wasn’t stressing about work, I was stressing about buying a home.
So tonight I was able to sweat out most of that stress during our ride. The weather was perfect (a bit warm in the sun but cool in the shade) and the scenery was amazing as always.
Depending on what time we leave the house, we sometimes end up riding directly into the sun, which can cause problems when you’re trying to watch for rocks and tree roots – visibility just isn’t that great and I have yet to find sun glasses with a visor.
Looking down into the Conejo Valley, where we live, it’s very refreshing to see everyone scurrying around while we’re just soaking up some sunshine, singletrack and the best company a man could ask for.
The climb was a bit brutal, as always. No matter how many times we climb the hill, it never seems to get any easier, which we’ve always hoped for. Maybe one of these days that’ll change.
Getting photos of Donna tonight was pretty tough – she was keeping a good pace. I ended up with a lot of rear-end photos because usually by time I got the camera out,cane was right on top of me and already speeding by.
As always, my sweat glands seemed to be working just fine. Sweat in the eye is a great sensation when you’re already having problems seeing where you’re going. Better yet is the aroma sparked by wiping one’s face with a sweaty glove.
By time we were heading down the hill, the sun had set behind one of the small mountains, which casts a shadow on the entire downhill section.
All in all it was a great ride. After 45 minutes of climbing we usually stop at the top to watch the sun set, before heading back down the hill. The way down is shorter but gravity is of huge assistance in helping up get down in about half the time it takes to get to the top.
