The Shoreline Biking Adventure & Being Serenaded by Thousands of Shore Birds
“A bird doesn’t sing because it has an answer, it sings because it has a song.”
—Maya Angelou
“I don’t ride a bike to add days to my life. I ride a bike to add life to my days.”
—Unknown
What a difference a few days makes. We had a four-day heatwave here in Northern California.
Temperatures topped 100 degrees. Yesterday, it dropped back down to the 70s. It was sunny and mild
with a nice breeze at our backs. The clouds were wispy as if their edges were being teased apart by the winds.
Bill and I drove twenty minutes to the Stevens Creek Trail, a 5-mile paved trail for pedestrians, runners and bicyclists near the
Mountain View-Sunnyvale border, below El Camino Real over highway 85.
The protected bike trail includes a dozen bridges, tunnels, and underpasses in the heart of
Silicon Valley. After parking, we offloaded our bikes and accessed the on-ramp bridge on Dale Avenue.
The bridge crossing over Hwy 85 is a massive, solid concrete design.
The trail is accented with creeks, thousands of trees and shrubs, benches, and water fountains.
The scenic trail is like a natural lineal park, a vital recreational resource that replaced what used to be unused land.
It runs past a series of high-tech business parks and mobile home parks. We stopped to check up on the progress
of Google’s futuristic new headquarters that looks like a cross between a Galactic spaceship and the famed Opera House
in Sydney, Australia. The construction crew was working in earnest. Symbolic of the times, workers were wearing face masks.
We continued to Shoreline Park at Mountain View, reaching the perimeter of the South Bay until we got to the jetty. We were looking for the pelicans. They weren’t in their usual place, so we continued riding a couple of more miles and off in the distance we saw
long land masses filled with what appeared to be thousands of white shorebirds including the majestic white pelicans.
The white shorebirds and seagulls graced us with a chorus of singing. After taking a number of photos, I recorded a short video
clip of this magical spectacle of nature. It’s been said that a bird can alternate exhaling between its two lungs and thereby sing in
harmony with itself. With the birds in the backdrop, Bill coaxed me into doing an Eagle Pose, a balancing posture that stretches the shoulders and upper back while straightening the thighs, hips, ankles, and calves. It builds balance, calm focus, and concentration. When one thinks of yoga twisting oneself into a pretzel, the eagle pose fits the description. The other standing balancing posture, with one knee-up, and outstretched arms is my fun, improvised version of a bird-like Kung Fu pose.
Another self-fulfilled day. Finding joy and respite from the coronavirus threat and the peddlers of the 24-hour news cycle seems all too willing to report every repetitive minutia ad nausea. News fast is certainly warranted at times.
We retraced our steps, heading back to where the car was parked, loaded up our bikes, and headed to the Falafel House for take-out lunch and headed home.
