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New Strokes

Weekly Ride
Thursday, 22 June 2006
donkey
Vespa spectator
Too often, ideas pop into your head after an event. The best “snappy comebacks” almost always work that way. So too, the thought that maybe the group should’ve done something unusual to celebrate the Summer Solstice – the longest day of the year, and a spectacular one in Spokane, too. History is full of rituals and celebrations based on the solstice. A theme ride next year? Make a note of it.

Maybe the first day of summer did have its effect – four new faces showed up in addition to five familiar ones, and even t-shirts and sandals made an appearance. Though Collin had a loop planned, a schedule conflict and a touch of a cold had him sidelined, so it was ride-leader Rick once more, with one of the season’s longest routes in mind.

From the Baby Bar, the group headed north on Monroe to Broadway, then Summit Boulevard to Aubrey L. White Parkway, to Five-Mile Bridge. From there, the pack rode up through the Four Mounds area, making a short stop near a pasture occupied by two, maybe three dozen donkeys – though some looked more horse-like than…ass-like? Back underway, the group crossed the grasslands leading to Charles Road and the big descent to Nine-Mile Dam. Last stop there to chat and gaze at the river, then back into town via Francis and Monroe, then finally to the Elk Restaurant in Browne’s Addition.

It’s been an especially wet, cool spring in Spokane, so things are unusually green and alive. Late afternoon light helps dramatize the landscape too, but riding through some of our region’s most pristine areas made the fact of the day’s significance almost palpable – a sense of spring at full maturity, at the cusp of another summer but only just so – as if the two could nearly balance each other, and remain that way.

Summer solstice. So begins our favorite time in the Pacific Northwest. dingbat

June 22nd Ride - Flash Photos

 
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