Yes, 'sagebrush sea' is a bit of a cliché. But it's a good one. Strunk & White do not approve of burying readers under too many metaphors. Indeed, we have all been readers on the receiving end of a writer who was a metaphor drunk. And yet, how can writers suppress themselves when something wonderful has put them into an expansive mood? At such times, the mind naturally seeks out analogies with other good things.
Every year I spend my canonical fourteen-days visiting my favorite mountain biking area, near Gunnison, CO. The topography, geology, altitude, town, and BLM management philosophy are responsible for making it a success. And every year I praise decomposed granite as geology's greatest hit.
To make it even better, I ride downhill on singletracks, and then 'recharge the gravitational battery' by riding uphill on the roads, to complete the loop.
Falling into one of those generous and expansive moods, I can't avoid comparing this experience to sailing certain places in the ocean. But before I bury the reader under whimsical analogies, let's pause to let the reader play with the idea on their own, if it captures their fancy...
Every year I spend my canonical fourteen-days visiting my favorite mountain biking area, near Gunnison, CO. The topography, geology, altitude, town, and BLM management philosophy are responsible for making it a success. And every year I praise decomposed granite as geology's greatest hit.
To make it even better, I ride downhill on singletracks, and then 'recharge the gravitational battery' by riding uphill on the roads, to complete the loop.
Falling into one of those generous and expansive moods, I can't avoid comparing this experience to sailing certain places in the ocean. But before I bury the reader under whimsical analogies, let's pause to let the reader play with the idea on their own, if it captures their fancy...
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| My "sailboat" docked in a protective cove, next to a tree island. The forest mainland is about a mile away. |
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