With the good amount of rain that has fallen in the American West this winter, water is flowing across the land down in the arroyos and washes, falling over rocks and becoming waterfalls. Ephemeral streams, those waterways that are intermittent, lasting a few months or so, bring an added instrumentation to nature’s symphony, a sound that soothes as the cranks turn over and over.
On recent outings around San Diego County, I’ve seen and heard water flowing in places that I haven’t in a while. The sound of water rushing through otherwise dry, arid landscapes serves as a reminder of many things: rejuvenation, change, replenishment, soon-to-be emerging life, e.g. wildflowers and amphibians. On a bike, there is a kind of mental ease and comfort that exists on long rides, as long as I have purification tabs in my pack.
Refreshment, too, is out there, in the form of mid-ride pause buttons that take the form of: shoes and socks off, feet in the cold water, sun high in the blue sky, birds stopping by for sips and a bath.
Ephemeral streams are dreams, was a thought I had the other day while stopping and listening to the music of water coursing through the land. Dreams that take no real shape, other than in my psyche, where the shape takes the form of words that give meaning to my experience of rolling on rubber tires while perched on a seat, my legs/muscles propelling me away from the parked car, for a little while, anyway.
No Dabs is a monthly column by James Murren that celebrates the mountain biking community and lifestyle.
Such a treat to hear running water in San Diego.