MOTHER'S DAY

What is the best way to spend mother’s day? Well if you are like me with no children nor grandchildren living in close proximity, what better way to spend that special day than with friends, taking in the absolute peace, beauty and tranquility of the Blue and John Crow Mountain Park.

That’s exactly what I did on Mother’s Day 2009, along with the usual crazy crew from Fun and Thrills. To be frank however, when I left my home at 6 am, I had expected to return by about 1 pm so I could do my usual vodka lyme with the usual suspects. That is because I never realized that my good Sri Lankan friend Damit had become so Jamaicanised. For Damit had organized the ride had indicated that we were going to a place called “Section” which was approximately 2 miles from Newcastle. Newcastle, if you have been reading my blog, is 13 miles riding uphill from Papine a distance that took me the slow rider 4 hours last time. Then Section was said to be 2 miles downhill from Newcastle so a safe 7 hours for the trip was a good guestimate, I thought.

Well the last time I went on that the very scenic route that takes you from Newcastle to Buff Bay in Portland was about three years ago. At that time I had seen where Hurricane Ivan had torn away the road just below Newcastle but because the kindness of a Coffee farmer in the area, we had been able to go through a road he cut on his property and continue our journey without much problems.

Riding up to Newcastle this time was not too difficult for me as I had already conquered it and was feeling quite fit. And guess what, Donna introduced us to “Gooseberries” which grow wild on the road side. This is as small yellow fruit, probably the size of a blueberry but far moré delicious. So I had a lot of fun satisfying for my cravings for this new delicacy by stopping all along to replenish my stock. Well what most of us had forgotten was that from Newcastle to Hollywell Park was by no means downhill so having adjusted our minds to the joy of sailing down we had to keep struggling uphill for another two miles. But once we started descending with the breeze cooling us off and drinking in the fantastic scenery of the different colours on the hills and the fabulous wild flowers, the real rewards of riding tripped in.

When I had arrived at the first break away and saw the possibility of falling hundreds of feet into a ravine if I walked where the surefooted and my courageous colleagues had, I opted to push my bicycle up the hill (Damit the gentleman, saw me struggling up the hill and came to my assistance) and through the coffee farm then down a step hill, dangerous for cyclists because of the loose gravel. But I survived. So I rode happily down the hill enjoying the fantastic flowers, brightly colored impatience, purple and another lilies of all sorts, the most fabulous assortment of wild ferns including the tree fern which it is said comes back from prehistoric era and other beautiful blooming flora. The birds too were in their element cheering us along all the way and the day was cool and a bit misty.

It was an absolutely scenic and peaceful ride.

Then we came to the second breakaway in the road.

I had no idea that since my last trip on that route, another hurricane (Dean, I think) had torn away two other parts of the road and those two other sections had no alternative route for vehicles to drive. That was when I decided I was not going to play the role of a mountain goat and opted to stay with Winston Chin Yu who had kindly agreed to drive the support vehicle behind us that day. We later had our delicious brunch of mackerel run dung, callaloo, boiled dumplins etc delivered by a kind young man who volunteered to be our guide when we came upon the first break away at Section...

Sitting there with Winston, I was reminded of how fortunate we and our families were as we observed a number of children, some no older than twelve, having to carry heavy sacks of sand on their little heads, in wheelbarrows or on a bicycle. In other words, they were acting as beasts of burden since the road was impassible to trucks, cars and vans. So the building material needed to erect a house on the other side was being transported by the kids. We never saw an adult during the period were there, doing that harrowing task. The scene was very depressing.

I had decided from we started that being a one direction rider I would drive back to Kingston so I took my seat early in the support vehicle. The heroes Damit, Howard, Heather and Michael, all power to them, road back and when the rain started they really got soaked. Those too who drove back in the open back of the pickup also got soaked and the breeze on their wet clothes made the journey back even more uncomfortable. Poor Michael chuck decided that he could no longer take the cold breeze and called a friend in a closed up vehicle to rescue him at Irish Town.

I can't speak for everyone, but I thoroughly enjoyed my Mothers day, the exercise, the camaraderie, the scenery and last but not least the food. Thanks Damit.

yOU CAN SEE MORE PHOTOS TAKEN ON THAT RIDE BY VISITING;

http://www.facebook.com/home.php?ref=logo#/album.php?aid=109840&id=763366822&ref=nf