The bike rental employee had to take my credit card information in case, God forbid, the bike got stolen or banged up, or if I decided to just walk away with it. She had to show me the value of the bike so I could sign off on it. The Specialized "Ruby" road bike, was valued at $2,200. (I've since confirmed the figure online; the upper end of the same line goes for $8,000,)
$2,200. That, of course, would have been the point when a sensible, middle-aged Baptist-raised, now Presbyterian lady would have declined, saying, "You know what? It wouldn't be worth the risk of losing it or mangling it to have to pony up that kind of money, so just give me a beat up, clunky, heavy beach cruiser."
Again, that's what a sensible person would have said. Me? I said, Lets do it.
The bike was a work of art. Gorgeous, two-fingers light, and so anxious to hit the road she was twitching. Just sexy beyond words.
Friends, there's a narrow path, a bikes-only trail from Ventura to Ojai, 15 miles each way. I made a short "let me make sure I know how to brake" loop in front of the shop, made a left off Main Street, another left off Rex, and entered the trail.
Ruby and I were practically airborne.
How rare and wonderful to have the sense of being completely enclosed in nature, far away from the city and its irritations and assaults on ones sensibilities. Here's a glimpse of what it was like here:
There were parts of the trail with no one about, but before one succumbed to Dateline-induced fears, you'd see a nice family of riders just ahead, or a sleek group of MAMILS (middle-aged men in lycra, i.e., kitted out serious riders) heading towards you.
Being a bike commuter, I associate riding with dodging cars and trucks and buses, I'm hyper-aware of the chance some idiot thinks zooming along in a thousand pounds of encased steel makes for an excellent time to text or apply mascara or munch a burrito.
Riding along a bikes-only trail is a whole 'neither kettle of fish. Or the absence of fish. The only thing to think about is the ride; everything petty and worrisome just sort of peels off.
I made it to Ojai in about 90 minutes only a tiny bit tired towards the end, had a quick bite to eat (outside table so I could keep an eye on Ruby), and made it back to the bike shop in an hour. I've been collaring strangers telling them about this ride, and Mr. Cockatoo has floated the idea of a ride along the coast. I had never done 30 miles in a day before but it certainly was with the effort.
Posted with Blogsy
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