Going Places

Originally uploaded by Mr Lunatic Fringe.

In cleaning out my “to blog” folder, I found a link to this photo. Back in the summer of 2001, when I was on the Alaska AIDS Vaccine Ride, I rode my bike down this very road toward this very mountain. At the time, it was quite overcast, and the clouds were quickly rolling over the mountain toward the river on the right side of the road. The effect was mesmerizing: not only did it appear that the mountain was about to be swept away in the tide of clouds, but also that we were riding right into the tide. The only other time I’ve seen such dynamic clouds was a year earlier, in the Swiss Alps, where it appeared that an entire mountain had sprouted out of the clouds.

Alaska is one of those places where it’s easy to feel the enormity of the planet and how relatively insignificant we are. The Ride was one of those times that shortened the distance between strangers and made it easy to have an impact. It’s still one of the most important things I’ve ever done, and seeing this photo makes me long for Alaska, the Ride, and my bike. It’s unfortuante that one of those things will never happen again, but happy to think that the others will always be within reach.