Point Reyes hostel
my my, how time flies by. austria, it would seem, came and went. graduation, c’est passe. working, learning, traveling, meeting folks, musing—all these things continue, ever fluctuating in relative strength, but never reaching stability or stagnation.
today was the first of a scheduled test tour from san francisco (my new home, for the time being), to the hostel at point reyes national seashore, and on tomorrow to salt point state park. if things go well i’ll have the courage, strength, and stamina to return directly from there in a day … today’s ride measured in the 40–50 mile range—already my pr for a day—and salt point looks to be a similar stretch of similar distance from here, so that would put friday’s ride at 80–100 miles of decently grueling elevation changes and stunningly beautiful coastline vistas.
about 2/3 of the way here i was getting frighteningly low on energy (and my left little toe was falling asleep) so i took a little break and ate one of my precious and delicious whole-grain fig newton bars, and had a drink of water. about 15 or 20 minutes later i got this amazing second wind, effectively doubling my speed for another hour or so. but i didn’t make the connection until i was about 40 minutes and 3 miles up the side of this colossal mountain here right before the hostel. it’s funny how one’s transportation changes the way we look at the very landscape around us : this hill (it would be a crime to call it anything else) is probably only a couple hundred feet in elevation, but 3 miles of consistent 6 % incline after 40 miles of road riding makes for a formidable obstacle. at least now i realize that it’s simply a matter of rest and water and calories before any obstacle shrinks to a manageable size.
so, as the sun sets here at the hostel and the refrigerators purr quietly in the kitchen, a small herd of deer munches on the green hillside nearby, and the evening birds start to sing with the frogs and crickets. time to finish my dinner and pass out for me.