Unusual Ride

This is like no view I've had before. It appears as though the road ends, like a cliff. The view in the distance is of low mountains. And yet they're not low at all. I've learned that when you're having lunch after a particularly hard climb it is not advisable to say 'Whoo-hoo' under the impression that it's all downhill now. In fact, lunch was at 1700 feet, but I was to climb another 500 before I saw any downhill. And what a downhill. As the picture implies, the descent is sudden and wicked. My bike weighs 60 pounds, and I personally add another 165, so gravity grabbed us with pleasure. At a top speed of 47 mph, I equaled many of the fifty or so motorcycles that came up behind me. Later, as I passed a local bar in Durham, most of the fifty or so riders were on the front deck. They started waving and cheering wildly as I passed, and I waved back like some conquering hero. I
don't what I had done to deserve such a reception. Perhaps it was that I simply failed to crash, burn, and die. I will joyfully ride this 36-mile, 1700 foot climb and descent again this week.