Thanksgiving Ride

As I loaded my bike onto the SUV Thanksgiving morning I repeated my inquiry to my wife for the 5th time, “Are you sure there’s nothing else that needs to be done”?
She reassured me with her normal laid back composure that we had made every effort to make the house and curtilage ready for Thanksgiving dinner the day before, and that a ride was just what I needed.
The weather was mild with gray skies creating a muted backdrop to the orange and brown hues of the fallen leaves on the trail.
As I climbed the switchbacks from the creek to the top of the hill I had to “dab” once in the exact same spot that has vexed me the last 3 times I have negotiated that section of trail.
This was frustrating to me because I have cleaned this trail many times before and my recent lack of riding was painfully apparent.
At the top of the hill I paused to readjust my gear and check my GPS for distance.
3 miles in 20 minutes was the pace that I had rode, so I decided to back off the throttle a bit and maybe snap some photos.


The double edged sword of photographically documenting your adventures is that it seems like a narcissistic endeavor to snap photos of yourself, and I can completely understand this thought process.

That being said, I am an extremely visual person, and I find that the combination of descriptive words with photography really helps to paint a picture for someone who wasn’t there.


Within a split second of me landing this log hop I missed my pedal and it slammed into my shin tearing a good gash into my leg.


As I put my last 2 miles in I passed what I assumed were a father and his teenage son on the trail having a blast together on the single track.

Sometimes it’s almost as if you can measure a person’s character without having ever spoken a word, and I thought to myself that I would aspire to be a similar father should the occasion ever arise.

At home I explained to Ash that the trail had given me a Thanksgiving “souvenir” as I cleaned my wound.

Shortly thereafter my wife’s younger sister showed up at the house and commented about the severity of the injury.

In trademark fashion, Ash responded by saying that it was a “regular occurrence” in our household.

It wouldn’t be long before our house was filled with the laughter and conversation of our family enjoying Thanksgiving dinner together.

For a recap of dinner check out Ash's post here