Swear on the Weather
by Mitchell Sprinsky on Jun.02, 2012, under Colorado, Ride Reports
It’s 6:30 AM. Wait, I know I didn’t set the alarm. Sure, I have my drug induced slumber to blame for a lot of things, but the alarm was clearly off. Why are the dogs barking so loud, I can’t even hear myself dreaming. Was that the doorbell? Damn! I try to close my eyes, but it’s just a continuous noise filled morning. Where’s the snooze button?
Ok, ok! I’m up. At least the sky is blue. Not a cloud in sight. Wow! No procrastination, either. Riding gear on, I fill the camelbak, load up the truck, and head for the hills.
Maybe, I am still dreaming. It’s a beautiful morning. I look at my watch as I open the door to the Clevus storage. Eight o’clock! Yup, that’s what I wrote on the sign-in sheet as I hang the “Patroller on Duty” sign.
The equation of the day is sun equals hot. I think my mathematics is way off today. You can’t fry an egg at 72 degrees. At least it doesn’t add a tick to hating life on a climb.
Man, Bergen Peak is kicking my butt today. Maybe, it’s the early morning wake up playing games with my equilibrium. I’m having to redo switchbacks that I normally clean.
Half way to the top now. It seems like this should be the summit. What a false sense of reality.
“Hey, you stopped for me?”, say’s the hiker to the biker.
Why is that such a surprise? I say, as I point to my bike plate. It shouldn’t be a surprise, but I suppose that Is why I don’t mind wearing a “uniform” and saying hello. A couple more of these encounters, and I think we’ll be good to go for another week.
I made it! I’m at the top, but something isn’t right. It’s too early in the day for this. Colorado weather dictates that thunderstorms are supposed to happen after 2:00 PM. Curse you thunder!
Hey, at least I’m at the top. It’s all downhill from here.
Downhill. A curious word. Webster defines it as…
The year hasn’t been too good to Bergen, so I will take number two. Yikes! That took every bit of my lack of energy to finish.
As I returned to take my “on Duty” sign off the trailhead kiosk, the rain began to fall. I cursed and I smiled.