Scenery 100

Took off east for Afton and the St. Croix River valley, with 3 of us. Shortly after leaving the cafe, along East River Rd, we came up on a tri-guy. He wound up tagging along for the entire route. Nice guy and strong on the flats.
Lots of hills, great scenery and a relatively moderate pace made for a varied ride that seemed to move along quickly.
The air was thick and seemed uncomfortable under the clouds that were sitting on top of it, squishing it into a space much too small. Even the trees hung low under the same burden. We, on the other hand, were energized by the clouds cool camouflage from the heat of the sun. Excitedly, we anticipated departing the city, finding and reuniting with our long lost lust for the seemingly simple serene life in the wilds of suburbia. The paved roads wound their way through pine groves over creeks and around lakes, that admittedly would have been citified, if only 20 miles further west.
The ascents promised views of limitless vistas, and the allure of what lay where the sky met the trees.
The descents played more to our carnal nature...speed. Seeing only the next ten feet in each second that we stayed upright, it was easy to attribute the power we demonstrated to ourselves. Our willful disregard for the unseen force pulling us down to a more level plane was paid for with rising heart rates and slow circular efforts. Regaining that rush of wind, and the blur of life around us, had to wait for the next descent, and our acknowledgement that we were mere mortals relegated to a slow mundane existence, if left to our own powers.
There is beauty in the slowness of life. It became obvious and was abundant as we engaged in conversation, joking, sharing and observations. Life was not only in us, but around us. We were apart of it and it was apart of us. Passing through a stand of pines, I said out loud, "it doesn't get any better than this". No more than 1000 feet later a deer stood on the roadway looking at us. We slowed, as that seems the best way to see, hear, feel and learn. It can get better. 100/19.2