Drinking From The Source

The first heat wave of summer has hit like a rocket. Hazy blue skies with a hint of forest fire ticking the nostrils. Emily is dipping her sore feet and scratched shins in the creek. I am sitting in the shade of a cotton wood tree brewing up a batch of coffee and digging through her pack looking for the last chocolate bar. We are 15 km from home and almost 100km from where we started. Emily stopped having fun about 4 hours ago.



There is something comforting about big rides. Letting your body dictate the pace and settling into a rhythm. After crossing the river early the first day we started an easy climb into cool sun. Packed for a night out, we used the comfortable mental buffer of food and shelter to play squirrel, taking side routes and short brakes in the sun, as we slowly made our way from valley bottom to alpine, investigating every little thing that caught our attention.




At 5pm we crested the pass we had been aiming for. Suddenly the beer we had stashed one more pass away seemed so close. It was Ems suggestion that we might be able to make it. I felt ok with it, knowing our race against daylight it was going to be tight. Pedalling through nipple deep buck brush, crossing a creek silky with silt that was impossible to see the bottom. Pushing up against the dipping sun, keeping it just above the horizon as we gain elevation. Finally topping out and rolling into a camp populated with familiar faces, left over dinner and a tent to keep the frost off our light sleeping bags made the end of the day push worth while.





The next morning, skipping from Valley to Col, following ridge lines as we traced a well trodden route. The morning is fun and easy. After hitting the tree line in the early afternoon, the trail turned janky. Awkward corners, roots, short steep climbs. The fun was hard won as we sent encouragement to each other for every victory over a climb or hard line.



I pass Em the cup of Coffee and she splits the chocolate bar with me. We watch the two creeks blend like water colours, one brown, the other green. At first a hard line is formed where they meet, but further from the confluence the colours blend. It does not have to be fun, to be fun.