The first ride – Pre wedding

Lucky me I was able to rent a bike my size. Not given, you can trust me on that.

So on the wedding day I got up and in the early down I started riding. From our house you either start up on roll downhill. You know me? Up, I went on the twilight preceding a balmy dawn. Here , with all the mountains rising from the sea, even the sun is slows rising. The temperature on the other hand, is not.

As I kept climbing, the color slowly changed from somber to luminous and pretty soon I was pedaling in the continuously rising shadeless sun drenched road through the sugar canes fields. With each switchback I was treated with quick visions of the white beaches below, the immensity of the ocean lost in the horizon or by the forbidding sight of the mountains whose summit seemed lost in white clouds. Heaven! But for the hardship of the relentless climb.

The road led me through several barely awakening villages, shopkeepers opening their stores,farmers heading to the fields. No cyclists in view , I simply focused on the beauty of the landscapes and the demands of my efforts.

After ten miles of climbing, the sea below looked refreshingly beckoning while I had the sensation to still be at the base of the mountain. Conscious, we were expected for the wedding ceremonies, I decided to head down when at the bend of the road I came upon the unexpected view of a Hindu temple.

Just as I made the decision to head back i spotted the familiar sight of a serious cyclist. (Smiles) I greeted him and requested he lead me, at least for a while, in the descent. That was a thrill to be remember and worth the hour and half of the steady climb. At the bottom, I parted with my improvised guide, teasing him for his splendid racing bike, fully equipped with state-of-the-art the art battery power motor. ” it’s easier for climbing” he told me candidly. I smiled and rode home to get ready for the wedding.