August & Everything

Balance;
A state of equilibrium or equipoise; equal distribution of weight, amount, etc.
Mental steadiness or emotional stability; habit of calm behavior, judgment, etc.

August was a shining example of how work can completely dominate your existence whether it is self inflicted or the result of serious miscalculations about manpower at the managerial level of your chosen profession.

Whatever the case may be, rest assured that when you drop a pebble into the water the ripples will continue for some time...

To put this drivel into a more visual context I offer the following;

Mountain



Not a Mountain



I know what you’re thinking, as I can also hear the world’s smallest violin rising to a crescendo.

So long August, you sorry, hot, nasty, mofo...

I have made a conscious decision to treat September like an extended holiday and get back to the things that are actually important.

Balance...Yeah, for sure.

Walnut Creek

The idea was born early on in the week; we would go somewhere different, unique, a departure from the normal “Tri-Cities area” ebb and flow.

After the slug fest that was to be a Monday through Friday knockdown, drag out, kick in the ....well you get the idea, we stuck to our guns.

After dinner Friday night we loaded the 4-Runner with the bikes and come Saturday morning, we were pointed down 64 towards Charlottesville.

We rolled into Walnut Creek in Albemarle County about 50 minutes later...


View from one of the numerous "Frisbee" Golf holes


Map of the ride


Ash on the tilt


Short rock garden at the end of a fun down hill section


Bridge over murky water


Right after I took this photo a troll chased us up the hill throwing mushrooms and shouting obscenities


Back to your roots; I only have one wisdom tooth and it's trying to come in,(true story)


Single track flow


Echos of our Ancestors...

Flow

In cadence we pedal, drifting in and out of the turns, the sound of near silence is deafening in its own right, breath and body in accord, we spin through the switchbacks setting the tire on the perfect line as we pass between the trees.
A hint of dew brushes my arm as we weave through the pine needles, a fawn, brown and white speckled, joins us for a moment before darting into the camouflage.Even the hills are obliged to let us climb up and over, on and on, down the trail we flow.




After ride eats;

Marinated Flank Steak Omelet with mushrooms


Grilled Mussels with red & green peppers, onions, and garlic in a Guinness broth.


Trifecta


Highland Brewing Co St. Terese's pale ale: 66%
Terrapin Beer Co Hop Karma Brown IPA: 92%
Troegs Pale Ale: 93%
(ratings at ratebeer respectively)