More poetry for the road....

Challenge

I’m obsessed with high mountain passes,

With snow-capped peaks and alpine grasses,

Grazing sheep and diluted air,

Marmots whistling everywhere.

The longer the climb the better I like it.

Point out something that’s steep and I’ll bike it.

When things are flat I’m bored and antsy.

It takes a challenge to suit my fancy.

Forget all the lightweight shit you can buy.

Pack up your panniers and give it a try!

Do it in rain or better in snow.

Pray for a headwind before you go.

Why do I do these ridiculous things?

Perhaps for the endorphins exercise brings.

Perhaps it distracts me from things that I fear

And I get to feel brave in my climbing gear.

(Hope the sentiment of this poem, written after several challenging and exhilarating climbs in the Rockies and Cascades a few years back, will resurface as we ride east from the Pacific Coast.)