Gnat Likes....

Every once in a while "it" all comes together.   For today's blog post, "it" is the perfect combination of riding, friends, scenery, light, and coffee.    I mentioned and shared one pic from my ride with Ben.  Today, I share just a bit more about the ride.   It was the perfect ride.  

The ride started out cool.  Much cooler than I had anticipated.  I had left my neck gator in the car and I had already frozen my hands because I started with gloves on, as opposed to my mittens.   Not good.   Yet, the promise of a beautiful sunrise kept me going.    As you can see, we were rewarded.  

It was a foggy morning out in the country.   The light was low and perfect.   The roads were frozen and fast.   We saw only a handful of cars and a school bus.  There is something so peaceful about being out and about in the country. 

After about 15 miles, we came upon a farm house.   A large dog stood in the middle of the road.   I had ridden this road before but never encountered this beast that stood before us.   Thankfully, his stance showed he was a friendly dog.   I put down my bike, got down on a knee, extended my hand and the dog came running.

He ran with us a few miles.   You could tell he was out just for fun like we were.  Not a care or concern in the world.   He cut both Ben and I off more than once.  I think he was happy to get out too.    He dropped off behind us as we headed into the park reserve area leaving Ben and I alone again.   The fog thickened up and we made one final stop to walk around in an attempt to unfreeze our toes.  As I walked forward with the intent of shooting Ben back lit by the sun.   The light was perfect and I snapped this shot of Ben.   It's one of my favorite portraits I've taken.  

As we turned south for the final leg of our journey, we rolled side by side chatting and talking about some bigger life issues.  Neither of us had the answers, but that wasn't necessarily the intent of our conversation(s).

The sun burned off the fog revealing a perfect blue sky.    We rolled back to town to get coffee and discussed the next ride before parting ways.  Simply an amazing day and an amazing ride. 

I also snapped 3 of my favorite pictures I've taken this year, one being the above shot of Ben standing with bikes .  The sunrise and the light was perfect!  I'll share another one later this week as the image is quite powerful and has meaning to me.   My bet is you may see the third shot someday either here or somewhere else.

That's the perfect ride.  Until next time.....