Exhilaration!

Have you ever done something and felt totally exhilarated afterwards? This morning was one of those mornings for me. This week has been overcast and yesterday it just teemed rain off and on all day. I didn't ride my bike as I was exceptionally tired from the long drive and work I'd done the previous day.

I didn't realize how windy it was this morning until I wheeled my bike out of the garage. A gust of wind blasted me, almost toppling my bike on it's kickstand as I shut the garage door. Well! This was going to be an interesting bike ride! Pedalling into the wind, I had to work twice as hard as I usually do, and lower my gear a notch.

Usually, I don't like riding into the wind, but this morning, somehow it was refreshing. Riding towards the dike, the approaching train sounded like it was coming right at me. Sunflowers bent their sunny heads with the force of the wind, the nearby cornfields rustling eerily in the strong gusts.

Too much cloud cover to see any colour of the sunrise this morning, it was still a glorious morning, the unmistakeable screech of eagles circling above. Smaller birds flitted in and out of the bushes, although many of the summer birds left during August when the smoke from the forest fire was so bad.

I didn't stop for any photos this morning, I simply enjoyed the ride, the dawning of the day, and the exhilaration of having completed a strenuous ride.

My sister has left to drive back to Arizona, so I've added a few photos of a couple of days ago, some with her, some on my early morning bike ride.

One of my first views on my bike ride. Mt.Cheam standing guard over the valley, the sun rising behind it.


After riding under the bridge, one of the farmers kindly lets me ride through his fields.


One of the sloughs I cycle by, quiet on this particular morning. Usually, herons and ducks are present, and if I'm lucky, the beaver.


Riding past the Friesan horses after a rainfall, raindrops were highlighted on the numerous spider webs in the page wire.


My sister and Mom dropped by later in the morning, where we went out for lunch to the local deli, and then headed out to where the old truck was located. She took photos of that while I busied myself with the rare local wildflowers. Blue chicory is common and grows everywhere. The white chicory is rare, but there it was! And the variegated kind they don't even mention, but again, there it is!




We headed to the historic site of Harrison Mills, where an abandoned mill crumbles and is the canvas for graffiti artists. My sister was thrilled that I took her there, although she'd been there a couple of times and never found it.


Behind the mill, I believe this was the remains of the old dock where they shipped lumber down the river.


A CP rail train traversing the river where two rivers converge.


A very good but busy week. The wind this morning blew all the cobwebs out of the brain and it looks like it's also blowing the clouds away and blue sky may prevail!