Drifting Away

June 14, 2020

Drifting Away

"...Thanks for the joy that you've given me

I want you to know I believe in your song

And rhythm and rhyme and harmony

You've helped me along

Makin' me strong

Oh, give me the beat boys and free my soul

I wanna get lost in your rock and roll and drift away

Give me the beat boys and free my soul

I wanna get lost in your rock and roll and drift away..."

Dobie Gray made that Mentor Williams song popular in about 1973, which means I would first have heard it while listening to the old top-40 station, 93 KHJ. It wasn't far away, but in 1973 I was still a bit young for any more edgy Rock 'n Roll. Besides that, Missy Fink's dad worked for KHJ as the newsman, or something like that, and that was enough for all Missy's classmates to listen to 93 KHJ (by the way, I still can not say that - 93 KHJ - in anything other than jingle form). Mr. Fink even came to our class once, to talk about his work, handed out business cards. Since, at that time, he was the only entertainment personality I had ever met, I carried that card in my wallet for the longest time.

all that is left of the once beautiful blue lake are these two sad puddles...

and a strange, spongy carpet of dried algae

rideable

not rideable

those two bridges look rather misplaced without water

found someone's shades

just some dude walking down wash, lookin' for a way out

too rocky...

too sandy

interesting flower though

finally, a place to climb up and out

Anyway, over the years cycling, in all its various forms, has added a lot of joy to my days - everything from solo rides of contemplation, adventure and discovery, to group rides and new-found friends, to the competition and camaraderie of the sport, and I want you to know I do believe in the song, the message that cycling has brought to each of us who share it.

Anyway, I finally made it across the wash to, what I have been calling the West Side Road (it's official name is Mountain Ave, even though it bears no resemblance the the Mountain Ave on the other side of the canyon. A lot of hike-a-bike (not unexpected), clattering over cobbles, scrambling over boulders, sinking in sand, sliding down slopes while trying to climb up, falling on my azz at least a couple times that I can recall, but finally making it, not only to the road which vacillates between paving and dirt, but also to the moderately historic Ontario #1 Power House.

The Shinn bend and bridge was covered with a hoard of locust, err, make that people, largely because San Antonio Creek still has a good flow of water at that point before it gets diverted underground at the Power House. Unfortunately these are the kind of people who bring their trash and leave it. At that I just took the quickest way back down as escape seemed the best option. I could see continuing up canyon, though on a less busy day. I have headed up the canyon bottom from Shinn in the past; it is not the kind of place to allow much riding, but I wouldn't mind trudging up with bike in tow as far as the, equally historic, Sierra Power House. That should be a multi-hour adventure, during which I shall sing Drift Away the whole time.