I haven't purposely taken a slightly extended period of time to give thanks and comment on Chris' visit and great ride on the C&O, life jut managed to pick up at it's occasional breakneck pace as soon as I returned to reality. Some other folks who joined in part of the ride on day one, or the first overnight, like I did, have already let you all know that it was a beautiful day amongst great company. Most folks took far more and much better pictures than I did as well. I guess I have a little something else to share about the day...
Life's thrown me a few knuckleballs over the past several years. I spent three or so of the last five or so years helping my mother through a terrible cancer fight. We made it through one round but she didn't survive round two. I've spent the past two years getting things right with myself since that fight. I found that being out in the world, away from the cacophony of my general urban surroundings, perched on a bike, rolling through the landscape, has been phenomenal "therapy." I've focused most of my riding on solo excursions, be it commuting, weekend adventuring or just riding around. Just this past year I've opened myself up more to the idea of finding some folks who like to ride the way I like to ride (which appears to be the way most of you like to ride), and, well, going for rides with them. As a lifelong introvert, I'm not always comfortable with a bunch of new people, and as a reforming solo bike rider, I barely know how to ride along with other folks. This is where Chris and local DC Metro area Riv-folk come in... I kinda set out on this trip last week cognizant that it was Chris' ride. I was happy for the invite to join in, but I didn't want to make it my ride. Combine that with the introverted tendencies, and I thought I might just participate a bit, maybe hang back and certainly enjoy the day on the C&O. A few friends and strangers just picked up on a common interest and good things happened. There wasn't really a non-participatory option, and this was a good thing. Some days you just go out for a bike ride, and that's all it is, just a human-mechanical interface event. Hop on, body moves, bike moves, hop off. Other times, it's not just a bike ride, it's a bigger thing. Could be a faith-restoring event even. Faith in what? Doesn't matter. Sound crazy? Maybe it is. I made my way solo back to DC on day two. I started the trek feeling light, energized, full. There's good people out there. Sometimes you meet 'em on a bike. Chris, Steve, Carey (and Tom, Tony, Ken, the other Steve, the other Steve?, Mary) it was a pleasure to meet you, on a bike. Thanks for letting me in on your more-than-just-a-ride. -Jeff Silver Spring, MD On Thu, Oct 15, 2015 at 6:35 PM, Tony DeFilippo <[email protected]> wrote: > Thanks Hugh! > > Whenever you make your trip we'll roll out the welcome wagon for you and > do some riding! This virtual community is pretty awesome, and the face to > face connections whether its sharing rides, sharing coffee or 'doing some > business' only reinforces it. Chris's visit and my one day on the trail > with the crew already feels like it happened last year...like a fleeting, > awesome daydream... > > I may be out in SOCAL for work in early December, bit to early to tell but > I'll hit you up offline on the chance we can grab a beverage or get a ride > in. > > Tony > > > > On Thursday, October 15, 2015 at 1:04:47 PM UTC-4, hsmitham wrote: >> >> Tony, >> >> Really enjoyed your blog post about the experience and ride. As always >> the images were great. Just a funny side note. When I first discovered >> Rivendell for some reason I thought they were East Coast based, of course I >> quickly realized they were in Walnut Creek, but seeing you all riding out >> there brought back that vibe. And you guy's and gal personified the >> Rivendell ethos. Someday I'll make it out to the mid-atlantic and do a >> tour. >> >> Tail Winds, >> >> ~Hugh >> >> “Life is like riding a bicycle. To keep your balance, you must keep >> moving.” ― Albert Einstein >> >> http://velocipeedemusings.com/ >> >> >> >> On Mon, Oct 12, 2015 at 7:37 PM, Tony DeFilippo <[email protected]> wrote: >> >>> http://dr2dc.blogspot.com/2015/10/mr-pondero-comes-to-washington.html >>> >>> Post with more pictures included. Another gorgeous weekend in the bag >>> and a 3 day one at that. This really is the best time of year for anything >>> outdoors in the Mid-Atlantic. I hope everyone involved made it home safely >>> and enjoyed the rest of their riding on the C&O. Thanks again to Chris for >>> making the opportunity and providing the inspiration! >>> >>> Tony >>> >>> >>> -- >>> You received this message because you are subscribed to a topic in the >>> Google Groups "RBW Owners Bunch" group. >>> To unsubscribe from this topic, visit >>> https://groups.google.com/d/topic/rbw-owners-bunch/2mDl-OLHnqE/unsubscribe >>> . >>> To unsubscribe from this group and all its topics, send an email to >>> [email protected]. >>> To post to this group, send email to [email protected]. >>> Visit this group at http://groups.google.com/group/rbw-owners-bunch. >>> For more options, visit https://groups.google.com/d/optout. >>> >> >> -- > You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups > "RBW Owners Bunch" group. > To unsubscribe from this group and stop receiving emails from it, send an > email to [email protected]. > To post to this group, send email to [email protected]. > Visit this group at http://groups.google.com/group/rbw-owners-bunch. > For more options, visit https://groups.google.com/d/optout. > -- You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "RBW Owners Bunch" group. 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