Magical. I was inching my way along this remote and hazardous road when I stopped to drink some water and grab a quick lunch. This rider approached. As he passed we nodded to each other. It was a fleeting, wordless connection. But a powerful moment. An acknowledgement of a shared experience. We knew what the other was thinking. We were both feeling a sustained sense of being alive. I have been lucky enough to have felt this heightened awareness many times in the mountains and backcountry of America. This cognizance is impossible to explain, but as real as anything else in my life. I have found that after doing extended trips into the fantastical backcountries of America, it is everyday reality that can seem a little weird.