Late to bed, early to rise

Hello Everyone, 

I try to keep a 'yes' attitude towards most things while I'm on this trip. I try to agree with most suggestions of things to do and see. And so it was that last night, well into my evening preparations, I was instead barreling down a mountain, Arthur in tow. 

Now going mountain biking isn't something that requires a lot of convincing for me. You might even say it's kind of a thing on this trip, but the way this particular ride happened was a bit different. 

I am camping by the trailhead of a network outside of Kimberley. It's a bit primitive, but out of the way and free, so it suits me well. I was walking Arthur in the evening when a couple of trucks pull in to where I'm parked. I wander over and start chatting, which itself is a bit of a departure for me, but as mentioned, I'm trying to push myself here. And it would have been weird not to, we were the only people for miles, all parked together. 

The people I was speaking with had shuttled some riders up the mountain and were waiting for their return. We got talking about my trip, and when the other people showed up, they offered to take Arthur and I up with them on a second run. My companion likely wasn't planning on that much exercise in the evening, but it's a perfect time to ride. It's so hot here in the day. 

It was past 9 when we set out, but full daylight. We bombed a fun, flowy run, then they had to leave for the night. Arthur and I packed up our stuff and headed to bed. 

Side note - the days are hot here, but the nights are cold. Being high up, the skies are super clear at night. I got up at about 3 am to take care of some business and got to see the night sky as clear as I've ever seen it. When was the last time you saw the Milky Way as clear as day? It was awesome. 

Being right at the trailhead, Arthur and I got an early start to today, and thus avoided some of the heat. Since there was no one to shuttle us up, we had to gut out the 2 hour climb the old fashioned way, but I'm getting used to it. This trail network is much more to my liking and the ride down was challenging but fun. Being done early, we had time to clean up and do some work on the bike. 

I'm currently at the library in town, using their Wi-Fi, but will be back there later tonight, eager for some star gazing.

Wes

Photos

I seem to have uploaded the same pic twice. Not sure how that happened. However, those pics and the amazing selfie were taken at the top of the climb today.

The last is of Arthur resting in the shade after our run, pointedly not on the mat I've put out for him.