Photo by Scott Craven

The road is bending over itself; twisting, turning, and tumbling towards the edge. Off in the not so distant future lies fragments of tree tops. Big, green conifers that are a visible reminder that a whole new kind of experience awaits on the other side. A hundred foot plus free fall, which from a distance allows one to see the magical expanse of California and yet up close also plainly exposes the danger of the moment. The danger of life. It’s an Alice in Wonderland rabbit hole that if visited will surely take you on a trip down a different path.

Seeing it, you hesitate. You hold your breath. You try to tell yourself you’ve been here a million times before — you can do this. The tires will hold. The bike will survive. The moment will pass. There’s pleasure in this… Really…

Quickly, the engine winds up, spits fire and tosses you towards the apex. It’s a heartwarming experience on a day when the heat stifles even the most hardboiled of riders. Waves of vapor rise from the tarmac. Big, proud, optical illusions that in an flash alter what’s real and what isn’t. It’s all about perception now — even though it feels almost uncontrollable. The corner which looked so conducive to pleasure suddenly seems snake bitten and you don’t know why…

So once again, you force yourself to remember that every problem has a solution, every moment a meaning, each challenge a victor… And as the perceptual clock in your head counts down the possible solutions dwindle. Until you find yourself having to acknowledge that there’s only one course of action left.

To toss the bike into the bend, to ignore the apprehension, and to let go of the emotional baggage from the recent work weeks.

With frayed nerves, the bike continues to hustle onward. Hitting the apex before you even realize it. And when it does life changes once again. The impending doom suddenly seems like a distant memory. Your only recollection the realization that somehow, some way, you’ve survived yet another frantic moment near the edge.