August 24, 2018
There is an acupuncture point and master qi gate in the center of the palm called Lao Gong. This is sometimes translated as “Palace of Weariness” and sometimes as “Palace of Reward.” Today’s ride lived up to both interpretations.
Stretching for 81 miles and laced with 5,100 feet of climbing, it offered ample challenge and fatigue to qualify for weariness. Those same miles and hills also offered more than five hours of lessons in being present, attentive to both terrain and body, patient and persistent in the face of difficulty, and ready to open to beauty at any turn.
The rewards for being so, and of arriving in camp at day’s end to a warm shower and a grassy tent site were worth every effort along the way.
tadpolejourneys 