Inclined to Surprise

Seemed like a good day for a not-too-challenging, not-too-long ride.

Running a bit later than I'd intended, I was puzzled to arrive at the starting point for today's ride to find only two fellow cyclists—and not the ride leader. I checked my email to see if he'd canceled. [No.]

We were prepared to follow the route without him, but he did materialize.

We weren't prepared for the first climb. Not having studied the route closely, in advance, I was enjoying the non-traditional route through a residential area of “estate” homes ... until a steep climb loomed above us. “Are we going up that?” my ride buddy asked. [Yup.]

I'll say this: After that, the steep-ish stretch of Roop felt like nothing. And I suspect we were not the only riders who expected a gentler route; we waited for the rest of the group to catch up. Eventually we saw them approaching below us, and that was the last we saw of them (with the exception of the lone e-bike rider). We dawdled for a while before the next turn, chatting, but got too chilled to linger longer.

Even on a familiar route, a new perspective can catch your eye. Location, location, location. I'm guessing that the adjacent stream sustained this majestic tree ... until it didn't.

And while I will rarely pause if I'm flying down a hill, it is occasionally worth it. [Occasionally.]

The lighting. The green hills. The flat surface of the muddy pond.

Free of the group, my ride buddy indulged my curiosity about taking a different route back to avoid an always nerve-wracking uncontrolled left turn across a busy road with fast-moving traffic. I'd tweak my variation slightly, next time; but overall I think it was a win.

A modest 25 miles, but with 1,400 feet of climbing.