I woke up on a Friday morning and just thought: “I have to go somewhere."
Been trying to find that balance between working on my book - ah, that book I’ve been neglecting - and having ride adventures. (And riding so much I have time for little else, which is more of an addiction problem and let’s face it, hardly a problem in the true sense of the word. Bit I digress.)
The recent #roguepumpkin adventures are great, but this adventure needed to accomplish something different.
I needed somewhere great to ride, somewhere great to write.
I scrambled around in the morning, threw a bunch of clothes in a bag, grabbed my laptop, latched Almond Butter on the car and drove to work.
A casual ask around at work: “Any thoughts on a place I can drive to after work - so 3-5 hr drive - that's also is great place to ride?" After a couple of locations were suggested, I weighed them up and proceeded to ignore them all (though catalogued for later). Why? Because I suddenly remembered a place that was three hours drive away. Three hours away and so easy on the eye that to ride there would be an exercise in 'stop and take photos' restraint.
My first #RideWriteRetreat was born.
During lunch, I found a hotel online and booked it. Cheap this time of year - well, cheap for Yosemite - and about 8 miles away from park entrance. Best of all, there would be no internet (unless I wanted to pay) and no phone signal (so no cheater internet either).
Complete isolation. Just a perfect #ridewriteretreat location.
I left work at 4 and drove to the Cedar Lodge motel outside of El Portal. It's one of those hotels that is equal kitch run down and just what you want. There's a bar. A restaurant. A room. And a large population of carved wooden bears, some holding wooden cameras.
Day 1, I sat and wrote in 2 places in the morning - my room until it warmed up outside, and a bench in the sun with a great view. I stayed there until noon.
I then drove up into Yosemite, up to the valley, and parked at the Village, grabbed my bike off the back of my car and noodled around the bike path just in my jeans and sneakers. With that little ride dose - I think it was about 9 miles of riding in the end - I drove back to the hotel, worked a little in my room, then wrote in the bar for the rest of the night.
6,500 words on Day 1. I mean, they weren't great words, but I was getting them out. Not stopping, not editing. Just writing.
Day 2 was slightly more complex, as I'd have to fit in the addition of having to drive home with writing plus a longer ride. Again I wrote in the morning. Check out time was 11, so I wrote until then, and then drove up into Yosemite and parked about 2 miles inside the entrance. Kitted up, locked the car, and started climbing up into the valley again. (If you're curious as to why I didn't ride up to Yosemite from the hotel, the park fee I paid the previous day which was valid for 7 days for the car did not cover entering by bike the next day, and I woulda had to pay $10 to enter by bike. They ranger advised me to drive and park in, so I did.)
Not a whole lot of shoulder on the climb, but traffic was very minimal and the weather was amazing. In my haste to pack on Friday, I'd forgotten arm warmers and a base layer, so I was just in my jersey, with a vest in my pocket and it was perfect. A little fall-chilly in the shade, but glorious, so glorious everywhere else.
It was not a long ride - only 20 miles in the end, but I loved it. Just what I needed. Got back in my car and began the drive home.
Almost 10,000 words written over the course of the weekend, and some great relaxing miles in a gorgeous location. Very productive, well-juiced weekend. There are more photos here
While I'm happy about the words - I've now written 30,000 since the start of November covering about 10 days of the tour toward the end - it's really making me aware of just how much work I have to do. When the first draft is finished, then the real work can begin.
