On any given Friday when the weather is warm regardless of the time of day there will be hikers and bikers in Providence Canyon. Frequently there will also be shooters, ATVs and vehicles of various types but I don’t meet them on the trail.
Today it was just me.
OK, so there were two guys leaving when I started the climb into the canyon and as I left there was one guy on a bike and a single runner but that was it. Well, there was a squirrel that raced me down the trail, but that was it. It was a bit surreal.
With the only sounds the wind rustling the trees, the buzz of my chain and the scurry of a few lizards and squirrels I climbed in silence. The heat of the day extracting moisture from my body I dripped sweat looking as if I had just emerged from the pool. It was hot. I was gross.
On my second climb my legs deprived my brain of oxygen and I entered a euphoric out of body state. As I started the descent my mind was numb and oblivious. My senses dull and my eyes blurry from sweat and tears the trail turned to a blur. I felt a rush. I felt fear. I just didn’t care. I had enough sense to reason with myself to guide the Ripmo on the right line while I convinced my brain to trust the bike. This thing is designed for way bigger hits and way chunkier stuff than I would encounter. Like a rider trusting their horse to bring them home I put my faith in the bike and just hung on. It was trippy and the Ripmo handled admirably so I made two more loops.
The ride – Providence Canyon