Tuesday, December 30, 2008

Shangri-La

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I wanted to actually call this the Authors Ride, we were honored to have a well known writer ride with us Sunday. Having read about him and known of him and his works it was great to talk and ride bikes.

"Shangri-La" is a mystical, harmonious valley, synonymous with any earthly paradise. We did a group ride with a couple of out of towners and rode through Cullman's version of Shangri-La. We started at the St. John Farm and rode through Hanceville and on towards Blount County. The route is pretty cool because you leave one of the most beautiful roads around and head into the forest, which the rocky dirt road takes you straight up a small mountain. Its a brutal climb and the only thing that saved us was the rain the night before made the road packed so it wasn't very slippery.


The photo shows "The Shocker" cresting the wall coming out of the forest. He is one of the toughest guys around, this was his first ride since the Tour de Cullman. "The Shocker" is know for being game for anything.


Once in the valley on top of the mountain we passed some horseback riders. They wanted to race but I think we all were temporarily out of gas.



This picture was actually made from the day before. I am struggling with my new camera to get all the settings right. I switched from a Nikon to Olympus digital camera and cant believe the difference in the photos. Its hard to say one is better than the other one but noticeably different.

3 comments:

Anonymous said...

I thought ShangriLa was anywhere without traffic.

Happy New Year to all of Carson's readers and cycling friends. May you never be caught without a spare tube or CO2 cartridge.

Anonymous said...

Too much Frambroise Lambic, Cheers from Mauritius!

Anonymous said...

The island is well known for its natural beauty. Author Mark Twain, for example, noted in Following the Equator, his personal travelogue, "You gather the idea that Mauritius was made first and then heaven, and that heaven was copied after Mauritius".

 

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