Antelope Island

This is my friend Karen. We went to school together, you know, way back when the dinosaurs roamed the earth. Well, I must confess I am starting to feel a little pre-historic, especially when I get on a bike and follow her off in to the wild blue yonder. 

I love Karen. There are a million and one things I love about her, but first and foremost is her sense of humor. She can hold the straightest face while delivering a punch line that will knock you over with laughter. She is so much fun. I also love her take on life. She's a lifter of the human spirit, and an optimist. I love being around all that positiveness. I also love that she is a spur of the moment girl.  She loves living life to the fullest. And I must mention, there is one last thing I love about her . . .she waits for me on a bike!  

I hadn't seen Karen for years when one day she popped up on my Facebook page. We re-connected and the next thing I knew I was in a pool learning how to lap swimming. Like me, she also likes to stay in shape.

The other day she invited me to take a bike ride out to Antelope Island.  I hadn't been out there since Desi was in the second grade and when she ask me I was a little hesitant. I then however decided no matter what was going on in my life or no matter how busy I was, I was going to stop and take the time and go. Sometimes you just have to grab hold of life while you can. I'm so glad I did. I have never enjoyed my self more. It was beautiful and we even saw lots of buffalo.

We stopped at the causeway to take in the sights. It was the perfect time of night to hit the bridge. Everything was picturess! Fall on the island is beautiful.

After stopping to rest we climbed back on our bikes. I was just starting to peddle away when suddenly I saw Karen fall over. When a person clips their feet to a set of bike peddles and then they suddenly fall over, it's a pretty shocking sight.  Well of course I was deeply concerned about Karen's immediate welfare so I rushed right over. "Are you ok," I blurted out? "I feel so stupid," she mumbled. We then chuckled over the silly incident and proceeded to once again climb back on our bikes. I had just clipped my left foot in and was working on the right foot when the next thing I knew, serious gravity was bone slamming me to the asphalt. I tipped over! My hands hit first, then my knee dug into the asphalt with a zillion rocks grinding into it, then my head hit the pavement and a billion shock waves shuddered through me.

That was it. When all the motion in me came to a hault, I started laughing and I couldn't stop. Karen was trying hard to keep her spasmataic giggling under wraps, you know, since my knee was hurting and all. It was impossible however, she could not contain herself and soon her laughter broke through in ominous waves. It was a side splitting moment for both of us.

After the whole ordeal, Karen insisted I pose for the picture. Well, it was a proud moment ----MY FIRST FALL!

Karen is the one who talked me into clipless peddles.  "You can't ride with me until you get them," she would say. "They improve your ability to go farther with less energy," she would tout. "You'll never make it long distances without them." That was her story, and she was sticking to it. I finally relented and made the change, however, once my feet were tied down I just knew sooner or later I was gonna biff it. Everyone does. And I mean EVERYONE! I worried about it something fierce every time I rode my bike. Now lying there, I was so thrilled and relieved to have it over with. It wasn't bad either. I was glad I had gloves on, they protected my hands. And I didn't rip my pants, I was ecstatic over that. And for a fifty year old lady, the asphalt was considerably kind to me. It was a good first fall!

After realizing the falling thing wasn't so bad, I picked myself up and proceeded to climb back on my bike. My dad always said, "When you get bucked off, you've gotta get right back on!" I figured if that was good sound philosophy for a horse then it had to be good sound philosophy for a bike too. Karen and I now refer to ourselves as Derelict #1 and Derelict #2

We rode that night until we got stuck between some buffalo. We both decided with our luck we were not going to see if we could ride between them up a hill. I was not feeling up to out peddling buffalo! We thought we'd save that for a luckier day.

This was the last shot of the night. The autumn sun was fading fast, and I marveled at the beautiful golden light on everything. It was so quiet and peaceful by the harbor. One lone boat left in the dock made me think of how sad I am that winter is soon approaching.

I can't wait to go back to this place that is practically right in my back yard. The next trip is going to be the beginning of my first annual tradition ---a bike ride with my grandkids to Antelope Island. I can't wait. We're going to take a picnic lunch. Float in the lake, skip rocks and count the crickets. Karen gave me the idea. It's a goody!

Antelope Island . . . I love it! If you haven't been in a while, fall is the perfect time to visit!