2026 Southridge Winter Series, Race #4

"Hey, what's going on down here?"came a croaking question from up the hill, a long jump away. I had just taken a pic as another rider raced past. I hadn't noticed anyone else around, and certainly wasn't expecting to see a couple of crows perched on that big boulder above, watching the proceedings. I wasn't sure which one asked the question, both of them looked the same to me. I narrowed my eyes and cocked my head to the side. Mimics, they both did the same, then, "I ask again sir, what do you call this?"

I call it a race. A mountain bike race, it you want to be specific. "Is that so? A race, huh." Just then a couple of their comrades screamed by low to the hillside. Pushed along by the wind, they were doing what fifty, sixty, seventy, more? I could only guess. "Now that, that is what you call a race, caw" the one on the left called out. "Yeah, we tried joining in, but you people on those contraptions, you're too slow," the one on the right joined in. I could tell where this was leading, their croaks and caws were beginning to take on a decidedly mocking tone. They were crows after all, the jokers of the air waves. And i do mean air waves; i had been watching them surfing around the sky for the past hour or more, whenever a clear trail gave me a moment to glance skyward. The day had turned out decidedly breezy, bordering on windy, even down on the ground; up there, the currents were moving up the crest of the hill, swooping down and around the rocky shoulders. And it wasn't just the crows taking advantage of the opportunity. A pair of red-tails appeared from time to time, as well as a couple red-headed vultures. Those were different than the crows, though, more deliberate in their flight, less concerned with the racing.

They made a sort of cackling sound as another racer sped down and across the slanted slick-rock nose of the hill. "Ha, that's fast, that's fast," they called, lifted off their perch and, without any seeming effort, sped down and around the bend after the racer who, by then, had disappeared from my sight.

Well, they've got their race and i've got mine. And today I got to take photos of both.

Until next time...

I am sure you noticed i decided to visit a different side of the course, mostly. Instead of shots of people suffering on the rocky uphill, give equal opportunity to everyone suffering on the down. 118 photos have been selected for the album this time - the link is here.