Chilled Wine & Knotted Quads

As days shorten and cold winds blow, I return to gravel roads confiding in the image of a tough-guy.

This afternoon, the mission took us to Trailside General Store south of Lake Carroll to apprehend November’s featured special. Famous Fossil’s fruity ‘Traminette’ wine begs chilling, and an obliging wind blew like hell out of the southwest. On the outbound, we ducked alongside tree lines and traversed hillsides – anything to dodge la brezza tesa.

We beat our way west along Hershey and Loran Roads then came about on Carter and Zier Roads to Trailside. West of Route 73, Hershey Road rolls smoothly into forested hills. Then, it goes gravel and descends gently into the Val de Loran.

The low sun burned my retinas. With one hand on the bars, I used the other as a visor and squinted around my puffy glove at the surrounding views from this beautiful road. In a flash, I thought, "should we abandon the vino and cruise back home on this glorious afternoon?" But, a thirsty tough-guy shouted “press on!”

At the bottom, I turned left on Loran Road and looked up from the handlebars to a huge heat-seeking buck in hot pursuit of amour. Then a second doe flanked me, shot across my path and soared over the fence on the hill above. Freeze-frame!

I was now in earnest of expiring daylight. It was 4:00 P.M when we arrived at Trailside. I stuffed the ‘Traminette’ in my backpack and ran for home with the wind in my sails. Time trialing on a cyclocross bicycle is rare, but darkness was fast upon us.

Rather than duck back on gravel along Loran Road, I stayed on Bolton for speed’s sake praying that a sleep-deprived grain-truck driver wouldn’t collect me on his bumper. The notion of wine and broken glass exploding over cold chrome nearly conquered the knots in my quads.

At last, we arrived at the top of the hill near Chateau Chang. Greatly relieved, I looked over my left shoulder above the speckled ember tree line to the close of a magnificent sunset. An intense ribbon, orange as my Las Cruces bike and Patagonia shell, glowed against the deep clear azure heaven above.

Here was an opportunity to celebrate the sublime -- pain, fear, and nature’s blessings. Regrettably, I had the wine but not a glass and a corkscrew.