It was an especially satisfying bicycle ride today, despite the scenery being only moderately interesting. The exercise was less than spectacular, perhaps because of the dog.
The morning started off well when I asked a camper about the land around him. Normally it is unprofitable to ask a camper about the land. But this was no ordinary snowbird. He gave me some useful information about a road I probably would have missed.
Then we went looking for access to an interesting campsite visible on the other side of the river. And found it. Also I managed to find one of my first camping areas from a zillion years ago. It looked completely different now that motor vehicles were not allowed there anymore. That was quite a nostalgia trip. One thing followed after another. I was drifting or floating on the bike.
There is so much infrastructure in this area for controlling and using water for agriculture: canals, dams, weirs, watering systems, big tanks, concrete walls, furrow irrigation, and miles of metal tubing.
This infrastructure has gone through several generations in development, and you sometimes see the obsolete structures. It gets really confusing where the Colorado River is.
There is something special that happens to a bicyclist in the right mood. And this means more than the calm euphoria of endorphin-doping. He knows how puny and limited he is, despite his strenuous efforts to climb or speed up. This creates a frustrating tension that can only be relieved by expanding in some other direction.
Here, the 'direction' was a mental expansion across the centuries. Everything here is reminiscent of the early civilizations built along the lower sections of major rivers, such as the Nile or the Tigris/Euphrates of Mesopotamia.
It is exciting for somebody to break the constraints of 'me' and expand into something larger, something grand; and to suddenly stop seeing mere things, and see their significance and meaning.
The morning started off well when I asked a camper about the land around him. Normally it is unprofitable to ask a camper about the land. But this was no ordinary snowbird. He gave me some useful information about a road I probably would have missed.
Then we went looking for access to an interesting campsite visible on the other side of the river. And found it. Also I managed to find one of my first camping areas from a zillion years ago. It looked completely different now that motor vehicles were not allowed there anymore. That was quite a nostalgia trip. One thing followed after another. I was drifting or floating on the bike.
There is so much infrastructure in this area for controlling and using water for agriculture: canals, dams, weirs, watering systems, big tanks, concrete walls, furrow irrigation, and miles of metal tubing.
This infrastructure has gone through several generations in development, and you sometimes see the obsolete structures. It gets really confusing where the Colorado River is.
There is something special that happens to a bicyclist in the right mood. And this means more than the calm euphoria of endorphin-doping. He knows how puny and limited he is, despite his strenuous efforts to climb or speed up. This creates a frustrating tension that can only be relieved by expanding in some other direction.
Here, the 'direction' was a mental expansion across the centuries. Everything here is reminiscent of the early civilizations built along the lower sections of major rivers, such as the Nile or the Tigris/Euphrates of Mesopotamia.
It is exciting for somebody to break the constraints of 'me' and expand into something larger, something grand; and to suddenly stop seeing mere things, and see their significance and meaning.
Comments
You're expressing a way of viewing the world (that is, putting our existence in perspective) that ancient Stoicism knew thousands of years ago, called "the view from above."
Here's a link if you're interested:
https://dailystoic.com/view-from-above/
Pierre Hadot, who is quoted in the above, is one of my favorite philosophers. (At the moment, my favorite all time) The book cited is available free online. Knowing this is your favorite way of gaining reading material, here is a link, should you be interested:
https://ascetology.files.wordpress.com/2016/09/pierre-hadot-philosophy-as-a-way-of-life-spiritual-exercises-from-socrates-to-foucault-1.pdf
Don't get misled by his use of the word "spiritual."
Chris, thank you for noticing. I eventually figured out that there must be pockets within MST that use PST or vice versa that causes confusion. Seems like there should be an app for that. :)
George
Bob vivant, I read Travels with Charlie many years ago, so maybe my opinion is out-of-date. The book seemed like something a famous author puts out now and then to pay the bills. And it was anti-poodle! Sorry I couldn't think of something good to say about it.
In Farmington the other day, at a stop sign in the old downtown, I looked up at the facade of an old building and saw similar swastikas on the 2nd floor.
Dellaterra