5/21/09: It’s 4:30 am, do you know where your bed is?

My alarm goes off. It is 3:45 am. I go through the mechanics of getting up. I let the dog outside. I put food in my mouth. I get dressed for the cold, dark morning. I find what I need for the day. I put it in a bag. I find myself sitting on top of a bike. It is 4:30 am. I am pedaling in the dark. The cold air is invigorating. The cold wind and the increased blood flow to my muscles gets me moving. I look down the road due west. The horizon is beginning to lighten. I look to my left. There are gorgeous rolling hills covered in rows and rows of perfectly aligned grape bushes. I am in the heart of Oregon wine country. There is a mist that rises up from the dew on the grass and hovers about five feet off the ground. I look back to the horizon and there is a magnificent orange glow beginning to form welcoming the new day about to begin. Suddenly there are huge light towers rising out of the earth shining down on an expansive compound of buildings and barbed wire fences. I am alive and well after an invigorating 10 mile ride into work. This is the way the day should start every day.