Look and Listen

Driving to the start of today's ride, I passed a pair of vagabonds pushing carts stuffed with their belongings. It was hard to imagine the route they must have followed to reach that point near the highway. A few minutes later, we were startled to see that they had continued their trek down to the highway and were heading south. On one of California's most dangerous roads.

Anticipating that this journey was likely not to end well, I was about to call the highway patrol when a motorist stopped and began to load them and their stuff into his car. The highway patrol appeared in short order, offering some measure of safety with the cruiser's flashing lights.

As our group assembled, a large bird soared overhead. A bird with a distinctive white head and tail. “Eagle,” I exclaimed. “It's a bald eagle!” People were busy chattering away. No one looked up.

We regrouped at a popular park. As one of my ride buddies sat on the ground to apply more sunscreen, a toddler came along and was transfixed. She seems to have some magical effect on men, having shared one improbable tale after another. [Talk about robbing the cradle!] Mom had to drag the little tyke away.

Climbing Rodeo Gulch, I saw a plant that I had first seen near the coast last week, a tall green stalk bearing large yellow flowers. I vowed to stop for a photo of the next one ... and, there were none. The summit afforded a view clear to Monterey Bay.

Overwhelmed, the blue-haired millennial at our lunch stop could not take our orders (much less our money) as fast as the sandwich maker could produce them. A couple of guys started asking about the history of Mountain Charlie.“We'll pass his cabin near the summit,” I explained. They didn't hear me, as they chattered about the 19th century bear fight and the plate in his head.

As we climbed along Bean Creek, I spotted a turkey perched on a fence. The bird was so still I mistook it for a statue at first. My ride companions were chattering away, but they did turn their heads in the direction I pointed.

Two unexpected sights awaited me on Mountain Charlie. As I rounded a bend, there were the vagabonds, with their dog and their carts, heading down the hill! They could never have guessed that our paths were crossing for the second time today. And at the summit, I found the whole group waiting patiently for me, despite their head start after lunch (not to mention their speediness). They were, not surprisingly, chattering away.

For the day, 51 miles with 4,520 feet of climbing, with so many sights unshared. Till now.