I'm sitting in a small library in Ilwaco. My wife and I have been on vacation for two nights now, and the weather gets better each day. Sadly, I'm getting sicker each day. And less together, mentally. Just when I wrote that, I thought I should make a logo for sickr, all flickr/web 2.0 like.
Doesn't take away from yesterday, though. I took my bike out for a bit. Turns out that my Cannondale Super V700 bike - which I'd picked up for a mere $200 from a retired assasin with a steel rod and morphine pump in his body, no shit - excels at camp trails. It pulled me into them, asking me to do all sorts of crazy stuff. Try to ride over rocks that were way to big, ride up steep hills, ride down lumpy beach trails with narrow passages and barely jumpable logs.
I ride up the hill, to the light house and some remains of fort canby; on the way back, it feels so good to glide down and have the breeze in my face that I let go, and put my arms out Kate-Winslett-Titanic-style while flying through the first of the fall leaves, weaving down from their branches to the ground.
Earlier, I'd been out to the north jetty. It was smooth, so the bike and I ventured out. We got further, and further, and the rocks got bigger and sharper. Soon, I had to carry the bike - it's a real lightweight frame - until, again, the rocks were so sharp and large I put the bike down. I needed all four limbs to proceed.
The further out I got, the more hostile it became. The rocks were wet, and I slipped a few times. Then, even further out past the straggling fishers, I got to a part where I surprised the seagulls, who appeared to eat more fish and less McDonald's fry wrappers out here. At least, the fishy guano was plentiful.
Finally, I reached the end of the jetty and snapped a picture. The mist of the waves was constant here, and I was getting wet. I briefly celebrated my victory over the jetty, reaching a place where not many tourists would have the patience to reach. Seriously, this was like 5 seconds. "Okay I made it's getting wet hooray for me now I'm getting outta here" or something.
Three steps later, and a belligerent wave crashed, over the jetty, and into my back. It was cold and mean, but felt exhilarating. I scrambled the rest of the way, feeling more fear of the water than I had previously. I had sweat dripping off my nose when I reached my bike, and I hoisted it on my back while I made my way toward more bikable terrain.
By the time I made it back, Kelly had woken from her nap and made coffee. My sickness was beaten back a bit by the air, and I felt delightful. Here's to hoping for a bike ride with Kelly later today.
Labels: biking, ihatebeingsick, kellyhogaboom, mymood=jovial, ramblings
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