Escaping the tedious life

Living in today’s fast-pace society can get a bit tedious from time to time. Sometimes we need to escape some of the turmoil that comes with it.

That’s what I did recently when I dug back into the shed and found my old mountain bike hanging from the rafters.

While most of life seems to cost us an arm and a leg along with the stressful activities that test our inner being, there are still the simple things that are free.

Once the bicycle is purchased, that’s about all the major cost other than simple maintenance.

This bicycle came from a local bike shop, still open today. But I purchased it about 20 years ago in a local pawn shop. In it’s day it was a Cadillac, but technology has left it in mothballs compared to what I saw on the Sacramento River Trail the day my grandson made a morning ride.

His bike is a simple low-dollar BMX special that hadn’t been on the pavement or dirt for a couple years.

We had both bikes tuned at the shop mine came from, and all that was needed was air and a little lubricant on the moving parts.

Arriving at the parking lot early in the morning, we noticed a Farmer’s Market set up for those ambitious walkers and bicyclers, who would take advantage of the home-grown veggies, fruits and other specialty items.

The day before our bicycle escapade, I had ridden my horse in Anderson River Park taking trails along the Sacramento River in a more remote setting. It too was a therapeutic experience my brain really needed.

After unloading the bikes from my old blue Chevy truck, we headed down the trail and across the Sundial Bridge. Now, mind you, I’ve walked this trail years ago and even ridden my bike on it a decade ago near Caldwell Park at the west end. I’ve even been part way on the east section of the trail, but this was a totally new experience.

I didn’t realize how much work has gone into the trail since the last time I visited. The Arboretum area along a hard-packed dirt trail was all grown up. The plants were babies when I last saw them. It was more a desolate desert back then. Today the vegetation is reaching into the sky for a picture perfect scene.

As we rode west I realized we’d missed the paved trail that is much closer to the river. Once we reached the main entrance to the Arboretum and buildings, we took a left along a recreational vehicle park and headed back east where that road connected to the main paved trail. Now I knew where I was, I told my grandson.

He remembered vaguely being on the trail when he was about 5 or 6-years-old which would have been about 10 years ago.

My bike rode beautifully, no glitches, just a smooth, gliding experience on the flat. However, there are some terrain changes that encourage gear changing for easier pedaling. My grandson’s seat hadn’t been changed in a couple years and he was having a bit of a time pedaling uphill until I told him to stand up and pedal for a while.

That was much better, he said. After all, he hadn’t ridden his bike much and was less experienced than grandma.

We cruised back to the bridge on a smooth asphalt paved trail, marked like a main road with broken lines painted on the surface separating traffic going in opposite directions.

Wow, what a concept, but it made a big difference from the last time I rode the trail that didn’t have the dividers. People were all over the place. Just goes to show you how our society needs so much guidance these days.

Back at the bridge we decided to take a break and have a snack at the little café. It hit the spot as grandma got a rest from some huffing and puffing.

We saw the extended trail that continued east along the river and made a neat loop back to the parking lot. There, of course, was an option I opted out from.

The trail now extends across the river along Highway 44 to Hilltop Drive. Not today, I told my grandson as we made a right-hand turn and back to the start point. It was a good ride. I promised I’d get in shape to do a longer ride, and when autumn temperatures were here, we’d do more of the trail in both directions.

Was I sore the next day? Yes, but not that bad. If I had pushed it, it could have been a miserable next day. But, the ride was enough to offer some physical exercise and a ton of therapeutic aid my brain really needed.