Before this morning's 6AM bicycle ride I watched a video of Clarence Clemons' nephew, Jake, play the saxophone solo in Jungleland, one of Bruce Springsteen's most amazing songs. Clarence died in 2011 and Jake took over for the "Big Man" in 2012 in the Wrecking Ball Tour. The video showed Jake's debut and his Jungleland solo was beautiful. He would have made Uncle Clarence proud.
The song was playing on an endless loop in my helmeted head as I bicycled along State Route 159 to the Red Rock Scenic Drive as part of my 32-mile morning trek.
I love Sunday mornings because it's the sole day of the week when the gigantic gypsum trucks are grounded and there's no rumbling trailer trucks buzzing me along SR 159. It was beautiful to see the gypsum mine entrance closed today. No trucks! Yeah!
I don't bike very fast and that works out well because it give me more time to enjoy the light illuminating the Red Rock ridge and the shadows along SR 159.
Most of the land along SR 159 is managed by the U.S. Bureau of Land Management, but there are small notches of private land like the old Bonnie Springs Ranch which was a tourist draw for its old 1880s era mining town shtick complete with gunfights and petting zoo. It was sold to a residential developer who plan to build big homes on the site.
The Bonnie Springs sign is gone -- and that was news to me.
There are a mix of crotch rocket youngins flying on motorcycles, road cyclists who are not the most friendly folks and drivers motoring along in high-off-the-ground pickup trucks.
I'm always saying hi to the cyclists with a "Hey now" greeting and most do not engage. There were also two runners jogging on the shoulder and runners typically say hi.
The Jnngleland song is playing over and over in my head, with the Clarence/Jake Clemons solo especially in focus in my mind.
On the Red Rock Loop Congresswoman Susie Lee comes bicycling by. She's very fit and a very strong bicyclists both on road bikes and mountain bikes. I gave her my Bicycle Man book and she recalled that as she zipped on by with a few words. She's running against a Republican fella who is a piano player.
I head on home and reach the homestead at 9 AM.
It was a lovely bike ride,
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