A Harvest of Friends

Those long solitary rides across the prairie, and through the creek bottoms, can sometimes get lonely. The sounds of the breeze and the crunching of gravel lull me into a state of calm meditation. I clear the clutter of modernity and finally see the beauty of my surroundings. And then I think how grand it would be to share my find with others.

So like last year, I invited a few friends to ride with me. In an attempt to make it sound like some kind of big-shot event, we called it the Second Annual Fall Finale Forty-Mile Country Path Ramble.

This year the harvest was bountiful. The official count at the start was 28 riders. When the ride was scheduled, I imagined that we might have about 10-12 participate. But thanks to the help of people that have a larger social network and internet footprint than me, the invitation spread pretty far. With such a diverse group, I was a little concerned that we'd be able to help everyone feel like the trip way up here in northern Denton County was worthwhile.

We had our share of misfortune. I am not aware of any injuries, but a few things made the day eventful. A couple of buddies had to drop out after about 8 miles when a hat fell and lodged in the rear derailleur, jammed the works, and broke a couple of spokes. I believe we had two flat tires. The event that affected the most riders was a missed turn. As I understand it, while I was dropping back to make sure we were all intact, the group at the front all thought "the other guy" knew where he was going. So they rolled straight off course.

Fortunately, I had mentioned that we'd be turning left on FM 922 to get to Rosston. So even though many folks took the long way around, we all ended up at the famous Rosston General Store at pretty much the same time.

Mrs. Pondero decided to drive up the Rosston General Store...just in case. That turned out to be a pretty good idea. Three riders had time constraints and didn't really have time to "ramble" all the way back with the group. When you have someone as loving as Mrs. Pondero around, even a no-sag ride, isn't entirely without some niceties.

Other than those minor complications, we rambled through the countryside...

...on mostly gravel roads...

...at a leisurely pace...

...in perfect, cool, crisp, late fall weather...

...across the windswept prairie hilltops...

...up a few climbs to keep it interesting...

...zig-zagging across meadows...

...accelerating into the creekbottoms...

...and stopping occasionally to take a breath and soak in nature's bounty.

As the sun sank toward the horizon...

...things began to have a golden glow...

...and we rolled down the last hill...

...content with an outing awheel...

...with a wonderful harvest of friends.

Thanks for coming everyone. You made my day. I just might have to do this again next year.