Enercentric’s Weblog
Just another WordPress.com weblogit wasn’t all downhill
friday may 16 began like no other. cool and overcast. perfect for what lay ahead. 60 miles of open road on colorado’s high plains. drifting. floating downhill to the vast, open plains. our first destination: the post office, to mail some provisions ahead. those first few miles were BRAND NEW. awkward, long, wobbly, large, out-of-place. after a few more miles, some moderate hills both up and down, things were starting to take shape. first gear came a lot sooner than expected. small hills, a twelve speed bike, and probably 20 pounds too much gear all at a mile high makes for slow going.
eastern colorado is not as flat as one thinks. sure I-70 from kansas to limon is pretty flat with some rolling hills. But CO-86 southeast of Parker, CO has HILLS. they are still in the mountains. our elevation increased as we made our way east to 6448 feet in Elizabeth, CO. Here we stopped for lunch at the local Safeway. everyone was confused by our rigs and our plan. a few local “hotties” in a dodge neon, cheered us on as we rolled out of the parking lot.
“First things first, we gotta start climbing,” I thought to myself. and that’s what we did. from elizabeth we rose another few hundred feet out to kiowa, co. A small pleasant town on the high plains. They have a local newspaper called the “High Plains Rider” too bad it’s not high plains drifter, for all you fans of the b-boys. On the ride to the water tower there was a mare and her colt and a donkey nipping at his heels. our presence piqued their curiosity just so, that the kids decided to play and follow us as far as mom would allow. we hooted and hollered and they chased us, even when momma tried to call them back they still ran. it was inspiring. beautiful. dignified. envious.
Now for the downhill. it’s a doozy.
I don’t remember much, but what does ring a bell is that i was going quite fast, my trailer began to fishtail and then I woke up on the ground covered in my own blood, rushing from my head, thinking only about how bad my thumb had been injured. I cherish my fingers, especially my opposable thumbs. you see, cycling is a lifestyle choice and rock climbing is an obsession. but not one that controls my life, just one that influences it greatly. and I need those opposable thumbs for climbing.
All told, it could have been way worse…
21 instances of road rash. most is on my body, some is on my face
21 stitches. some are on my face most are keeping my skull covered
1 broken false tooth.
0 broken bones.
0 broken vertebrae.
0 internal injuries.
Lots of bruises, stiffness, soreness.
But my will to live, heal, survive is stronger than ever.
it’s happening
all of a sudden everything is rushing in from the outside. think of trying to pour a lake into a bucket, it will overflow sooner rather than later. right now the dam is about to breach and there’s very little I can do. finals have hit, my apartment is a wreck, bicycles and parts and tools strewn everywhere. not to mention all the other crap that is taking up space.
Four days. FOUR days. four DAYS. FOUR DAYS…
it used to be months, then weeks. not days…but now there are only days until departure. days until it becomes real. days until my planning and preparations are put to the test. I thought final exams were hard…they pale in comparison to this final exam.
2200 miles. wild fires. tornadoes. adventure. grasslands. coal trucks. roller coaster Appalachia. rivers. trees. leafy trees. new people. new places.
All of this from the glorious aspect that only a twelve speed bicycle can provide.
four days…
