4.26.2011 Ride: A Melancholy Day in Wyman Valley

It's odd how an hour, a minute can make such a difference.  I set out on my ride late this morning feeling very melancholy with low energy.  It was good to be outside but I moved along slowly, stopping frequently, as if searching for something.

I started in Barrington Park and headed for Wyman Valley.  There was some gravel on the road from yesterday's storm but not too bad.  The storm was definitely on my mind.  Ann Marie mentioned to me that she drove by the tunnel at 2:00 PM where I photographed the worker, just two hours after I had been there, and it was totally under water again from the new storm that flooded the area.  Though I was never even close to being in danger, there was an unsettling feeling knowing that an area I was in just a short time earlier was six feet under water.

I thought about the headline in the paper from this morning a lot on my bike ride.  A woman's Honda Odyssey van stalled as she tried to pass through some water.  She left the vehicle, presumably to go get help, and ended  up being swept away by the water and drowning.  The fact that this happened in south Fayetteville brought it very close to home.  That we also own a Honda Odyssey brought it even more close to home.  But most disturbing was that her 11 year old son was in the van when she left.

 

I ran through my head the conversation that must have ensued before she made the decision to leave.  Did her son want to go as well?  Did he beg her not to go?  Once she left, did he see her being swept away?  I do hope it's not a burden that he ends up carrying for the rest of his life.

When I was more than half way into what I thought would be my ride for the day, I was still plodding along with the valley feeling like a very sad place.  I did see a beautiful white egret take flight and fly away from me.  I was tempted to pull out the camera and try to capture a shot but it would have been long gone and I would have missed watching it gracefully wing across the pasture.

At another point, I saw a flycatcher sitting on a wire and stopped with camera in hand waiting for it to take flight.  I knew my chances were slim of getting a good shot as they dart about so quickly but I was willing to give it a try.  However, he (or she) seemed content with preening itself and I finally gave up waiting.

Leaving the valley, I came across the sign post below.

It's emptiness really struck me today.  It's as if the single bullet hole in the sign, drained the lettering from its face and caused the post to bend over in despair. 

A curious thing happened as I made the steep climb up back to the top.  Often, I will do a lap or so around the Barrington neighborhood but I will miss the spirit of the valley down below.  Today, the reverse seemed true.  I seemed to get re-energized by doing "hamster laps" (as Paula calls them) around the neighborhood, picking up my speed and moving quickly to add another five miles to my trip.  When that was accomplished, I saw I only had 7 minutes more to make it a full 2 hour ride, so I did another long lap around the neighborhood and ending on a very good note.

Today's ride:  2hrs.  21.52 miles.  59 degrees.  Miles YTD:  2,394.8