Article by Steve Hargis - Lots of memories on early summer mornings
We wait what seems like forever for those first truly warm days of Spring. Then we welcome the cool breeze on a warming afternoon. But before you know it, bang! it's summer and getting hot. It's at this time I transition to those wonderful early-morning rides.
As the sun creeps slowly towards its zenith and marches on a northward trek to summer solstice, the mornings come pretty early around here. It's a perfect time to get up early and ride 20 or 30 miles, and your senses will thank you.
Smell: One thing I love about the early mornings in the Ozarks are the smells. There's a dank, wet, fresh smell, all mixed together, from blooming honeysuckle to freshly mown fescue ready for bailing. Carried on a light breeze with a relative humidity you literally see is hard to describe, so it must be experienced.
Hearing: The sounds; as the wind whistles across your ears, this is when the birds are up and singing about the day ahead. It's when you'll hear the distant bawling of a lost calf or a hoot, hoot of an owl yet a little too awake for bed.
Touch: How can you touch the morning? There is a dynamic range of temperatures that simply refresh your soul. From that tinge of chilly air as you start your journey, to the humid warmth rising from the roadway heated from yesterday's afternoon sunshine, to the sudden immersion in cold air as you plunge through a deep Ozarks' valley that makes you shiver despite the calendar. An early summer ride envelopes you. Touch is all around.
Sight: Light in the morning is special. A pre-sunrise twilight masks movement in its shadows. The long rays of the coming sunup signal this event as they stretch across a mackerel sky, and for the briefest of moments, the colors are simply amazing. From deep indigo and violet to striking burnt oranges that fade into yellows and pinks . . .if you look away it will change. This might be a good time to park for a minute as it doesn't last long and once I almost took out a mailbox with my right shoulder. I once remarked to a friend while on an early morning film shoot that it's too bad that these amazing celestial events are so darned early in the morning. He laughed and said, "Yeah, but if they were later, everybody would get to see 'em." I think I like them right where they are . . .early.
Taste: Okay, this is pushing it a bit, but do you know how bacon and eggs never tasted better than on a camp out? Way better than in your house on any given day . . .well a Clif Bar at 15 miles out, along with a long pull of tepid water from a dirty water bottle is about as good as it gets. If you've been there . . .you know exactly what I'm talking about.
It is said that God makes all things knew . . .the old is gone and new is come . . .I suggest you may experience this every morning of the summer . . .but you will have to get up early.
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