I ran the famous Hood to Coast Relay for the first (of nine!) times before I moved to Oregon. Standing by the side of a winding back road, waiting for a teammate to pass me the slap-bracelet, I thought I was in fruit-heaven: Bushes drooping under the weight of ripe blackberries lined the road in copious, hulking clumps. The jewel-like berries, warmed by the late afternoon sun, were sweet and pungent in my mouth as I gobbled up handfuls of the scrumptious treats. By the time I extended my arm for the wristband swap, my fingers were stained a deep purple.

That was several decades ago, yet the memory recently came flooding back to me on an ElliptiGO ride: About 12 miles in, I realized the paved trail I was riding on was flanked by overgrown bushes laden with ripe blackberries! The timing was ideal as I hadn’t brought a GU gel or water with me. Harkening back to the H2C, I started eating berries as quickly as I could pick them. After 10 minutes of this pick-and-gobble routine, I pedaled toward home, a surge of fresh, fruity energy fueling the rest of my 18-mile ride.

Now I am chasing this blackberry buzz, planning my rides to include patches of bushes. (Living in Portland, that’s easier than you think it might be!) I am positively giddy when I hop off my ElliptiGO, telling myself I’ll only eat two or three handfuls and I’ll resume riding after 5 or so minutes. In reality, I lose count as to how many berries I eat, and usually these stops end up lasting upwards of 15 glorious minutes.

I don’t really have any bigger, grand message with this post other than I see my approach to blackberries being a variation of, “stop and smell the roses.” I now ElliptiGO ride three or four days a week, an activity already infused with freedom and joy for me. Now it just has a dark purple tint and delicious flavor to it!

After a recent workout, I drove back to the bushes and picked (more than) enough berries for a pie. Our family members LOVE fruit pies, so I made this pie: