Beauty and Pain

Beauty

The Olympic Discovery Trail that I’ve been riding upon for most of the last two days is stunning. It routes cyclists and hikers on narrow, paved tracks or on quiet roads. I rode a 15-mile stretch yesterday and only saw one car. The conifer forests stretch up the steep slopes of the mountains. In the distance, there is still snow on Mount Olympus.

It helps that the weather has been, literally, perfect. It follows the pattern of a classic coastal Pacific Northwest summer day: early morning fog rubs out the edges of the landscape, the cool air thick with mist. By mid-day, the fog has burned off, revealing crisp blue skies and a few clouds. The air is dry and riding through the coastal forests you can smell the fir and spruce. For most of the day the temperature ranges in the mid-60s, though it might peak in the upper 70s for an hour or two on low, exposed hilltops. At night, the air cools once again.

There are stretches where I ride in absolute solitude. Of course, there are also stretches on US 101, where logging trucks scream past me (too close for comfort). The image of paradise on earth is usually represented by a tropical island with soft, gentle breezes and sunny beaches. I want to make a case that summer days in the Pacific Northwest are equally paradisiacal.

Pain

Due to a combination of age and long hours on the bike, I have developed pain in a couple of areas that have been the only thing detracting from the beauty that surrounds me. I’ll spare you the details, but it involves the patella over the left knee and the tendon above the right heel. The pain has, quite abruptly, forced me to ride at a much slower pace and lower effort level. It also makes me aware of the disconnect between my body and my mind. The bike trip in my mind was that tropical island in the setting sun. The bike trip of my body is the Israelites suffering the punishing work of building the Pyramids for a heartless Pharaoh. Put another way, the mind said, “Let’s do a bike trip. It’ll be fun!” To which the body replied, “Not if I can help it.”

I will explore the topic of pain in more detail in a later post.