Fall Ride

Yesterday we went for our weekly bike ride on the Swamp Rabbit Trail. The trail was beautiful with the fall colors. It rained the previous day and the sky was grey. Despite the sky being dark with ominous clouds, the colorful trees with red, yellow, green, and brown leaves were enough to lift one's spirits. We tried to bike on Saturday but realized we forgot the bike keys for our battery: a pitfall for electric bikers. We did not want to use our bikes without the electric juice as the ride to Travelers Rest and back was just too long; about 20 miles back and forth. Instead, we walked along the Reedy River and stopped at the junction of the cancer center where there was a walkway through the towering trees along the river where two men were fishing.

As usual, the 2-hour bike ride was good to relax the mind and the fall weather was cold so we wore several layers to keep us warm. The trail is a rare joy to enjoy for everybody and there were several people on the trail despite the possibility of rain. In past years, we often hike in state parks or the park near our home during the weekend but the discovery of e-bikes converted us. Challenges in the office kept my mind tangled with thoughts but the bike ride was enough to relieve some anxiety. We went to Costco afterward and got home by about 1 PM for a steak and shrimp lunch. 

I planned to prepare for the coming Nanowrimo November challenge but I procrastinated by watching a Netflix documentary on the earthquake in Nepal. After lunch, I went to the gym to have a sauna and bought 6 sacks of mulch. We recently got a letter about weeds in our front yard, specifically in the flower beds. I plucked out the weeds the previous day and laid down the mulch in the evening after dinner. Before going to bed, I completed the 2 online learning courses that I needed to finish by the end of October.

I kept thinking about a few emails that agitated me; where I felt I needed to respond to, but I thought it was my ego again wishing to be heard, to make people know of my contributions to a project we were doing. I thought about the events of the past week with several meetings and pressure to deliver, of my frustrations with my colleagues and my boss who often only think of themselves and lose the important point. Of the creeping unease of not making the grade and missing some action and every man for himself. The fall ride amidst the autumn leaves helped me calm my mind.