in praise of a tail wind

rather than breaking wind

It was so odd.

I haven’t had a conversation like this in years. I started:

I’d like to do this thing that other people might like and…

The response didn’t contain questions.

There were no objections to overcome.

A ‘sales job’ wasn’t necessary.

Instead?

I was greeted with:

Cool. When do you want to do this and here’s what we do to help.

Holy crap.

My head is buzzing like a fresh freewheel spinning at forty downhill and screaming.

I didn’t need to justify anything.

Looking forward to hearing back from you.

When Zeke’s not riding in the bush, he’s forever looking at maps and elevation profiles, agonizing whether to run a lap in one direction or the other.

How do we find the best path? When do you want it to suck? Where will we find the downhills.

All that planning is great.

And?

Nothing can make up for Zeke’s time in the saddle and time on the trail.

There’s something that can never be planned nor accounted for from the getgo.

I’m talking about that moment of magic.

You know what I mean.

Every now and then

Just when things seem to be slowly dragging you to death

A big ol’ tail wind rises up behind you. And it’s a big wide open long stretch. A tail wind is great. Not only does it give you a break by pushing you along, it also allows some of the flats - the doldrums of the ride - to become a bit less of a grind and a lot more playful.

You can’t predict a favorable wind.

But a favorable wind begs to be enjoyed.