Tuesday, March 31, 2020

negative ions

It is another Sunday afternoon in Pisgah and I feel like a junkie once again. The world is in turmoil and everything we thought we knew is changing and here I am pulled up at Fisherman's once again getting ready to ride my bike to prepare for a race that isn't going to happen. It gives me something to do and offers a way to escape the reality that will still be there to greet me first thing Monday morning.

I do one of my favorite routes in the area - Bear Branch and Fletcher Creek. It is nothing too hard but I don't need too hard today. There are a splattering of hikers out on the trail and several groups of mountain bikers, I get the sense that we are all looking for that same escape. I think about how fortunate we are to have this playground in our backyards while a lot of the world is stuck inside four walls.

I stop at the reservoir to fish for the first time of the season. Usually, I'll catch a fish on the first few casts but it rained earlier and the water is a little murky and other than a few strikes I come up empty. I wonder if the trout have decided to stay home as well. Good call, I think to myself, they are much safer that way. I only fish for a few minutes before resigning to drink a beer and just relax. I sit on an old stone foundation and watch as the water cascades down the face of the dam. As the negative ions waft into the air I feel at peace. This is one of my favorite spots.

On the way back I am having so much fun lost in my escape I go around Bear Branch one more time. Other than a squeak coming from my seat post the bike feels good and I feel good. I feel like I could go on forever if only time weren't part of the equation.



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