July 16, 2023:
Your bicycle companion peels off to the right, up a small bluff, racing. You're going fast yourself, but, you're paddling, feet on the ground, rather than peddling. Ahead you recognize the Balboa Avenue hill, but, it's unsurfaced, all dirt. It's dirt everywhere, no more streets, no more buildings, as though returned to an original state of nature. There's a strong smell of canyon.