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The sirens’ song rang in my ears. I had resisted their call for weeks, keeping myself at work and away from the coast. As the nights shortened so did my ability to resist, and on the solstice I found myself on my Siren rendezvousing with the Pacific.

I made my way up and down the hills until the sun began to drop and I could see again. I made my way to my intended destination, some remnants of the military base that was decommissioned in 1974.

I found a nice spot to hide out for the evening and unpacked my bivy. The moon was bright so although it was nearly 10pm I could still see clearly.

I fell asleep to the sound of the bell on the channel marker clanging in the distance and the occasional howl of a coyote while the stars passed slowly overhead. I woke a few hours later overheated, the first time I have had that problem while sleeping outside in Northern California. I peeled my bivy back to let some cool air flow in and returned to a sound sleep.

I woke to find the world had disappeared and I was enshrouded in fog.

I quickly packed up and set off down the hill with roughly fifty feet of visibility.

I rode for awhile until I encountered a steep twisty staircase that I chose to walk down.

At the bottom of the stairs I finally saw the Pacific under the fog and felt a twinge of envy of the surfers in the water.

I rode down to the valley, under the fog, then pointed the bike uphill for the last time to climb back to the road.

I eventually made it back to the road and the sun, looked over the bridge and, for the first time in 14 hours, heard the telltale drone of traffic.

I continued straight to work, a ride I’ve done at least a 100 times. It was a little unsettling how easily I adapted from my solo night on the hilltop to riding next to the freeway and through rush hour traffic.

I finally arrived at work, still in my clothes from the night before. I rushed to the bathroom to quickly wash off and into my work clothes. By 10am I was just like everyone else, but well rested and smiling thanks to my secret solstice adventure.