Humbled by So Much

I wrote this when biking the gorgeous ride from Randle to Hood River.  Although I wasn’t going to originally share it on the blog, it seems to me that it is silly to keep this to myself.

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I had to pull over, because if I had kept biking I most certainly would have crashed.  My eyes and mind were now fully captivated by the sheer massive beauty of Mount St. Helens.  Across a major valley rift and standing above endless foothills of raw evergreens that remind me of a Jurassic era, stands a truly humbling mountain.  I just summited the mountain pass a few miles back and have been riding down hill yelling, hooting, singing, and hollering with elation at the wind as my wheels spin faster and faster and my legs turn less and less.  There are really two things about this ride that have left me writing here, with my laptop, in my bike shorts on the side of the road (i.e. looking very silly).  Today we will cycle by breathtaking views of  four notorious volcanoes (St. Helens, Rainier, Adams, and Hood). We will cycle with the 85-degree sunshine and a cloudless sky reigning above our heads. I’m grateful for the push of a light wind at our backs and when it is coming head-on, I’m grateful for the cool breeze.  We will cycle across the border and into Oregon, where we will follow the Columbia River east towards the outdoor meccas of Hood River and White Salmon. And there we will meet with great people, passionate about conservation, wilderness, and living a life filled with adventure.

And I will do all of this, while being lucky enough to realize a four-year dream, alongside two young guys who I consider it incredibly humbling to be riding with.  -  I am humbled by nature, by this team, by the people along the way, and by a dream realized.