The Ride

I didn’t mean to keep riding. I just got on my bike for a quick training trip around the Patterson Road loop…. The weather was wonderful, the wind cooling, my legs just kept going. Wildflowers by the road seduced my ride. Who would believe that a clump of blue flag in a drainage ditch would explode with such energy? Did I know that the deep purple lupine on the green hillside could send power to the core of my being, or that fields of yellow buttercups bounded by dark blue green ragged spruce trees would entice me onwards? Never. Do you know how many greens intertwine in the early summer mosaic of the fields? Have you seen the sweet lavender clover hidden among the grasses, the wispy heads of grasses, the blue-green wheat blossoms left behind in old fields? Ferns are full now, having stretched out of their fiddlehead stage. They still play in the brilliant green of earlier spring, however. Dark green sword-leaves of cat-n-nine tales stretch above other residents of wet areas, punctuated by their fern neighbors. On quiet roads, birdsongs resonate. So the trip just kept growing: Kennebec Road to Meadow Road to Rt. 69, back in Kennebec Rd, to Back Winterport Rd, to Baker Rd to Rt. 1A, to the four mile square – 23.3 miles. I was seduced and loved it!


When I biked on Acadia last week with my friend John, I would look ahead and moan about a hill we were about to climb… He admonished me to be in the present. What a great mantra… to be where I am, to see with open eyes, to trust the day, to relish the offerings. I lived that mantra in the ride yesterday and found an internal power to keep going. I have made peace with the gear shifts on my bike. They actually help me. So, the goal I set for myself some weeks ago: to be able to participate in, complete, and enjoy the 25 mile woman’s bike ride in Freeport this weekend seems to be within sight. Only Sunday will tell what really happens… but for now, the physical and mental training, the pure joy that I have found on the road, and the lush early summer fields have all been unexpected gifts which will power my ride. WAAHOOO!