Metric Century

I went riding with "J" today. It's been a long time since since we briefly tried to date last March and then he fell off the planet. On the few times I've reached out, I heard only crickets.
He sent a short e-mail on Thursday. Did I want to ride? Yup. I always want to ride.
I don't think he expected I'd be up for much, so he put in about 40 miles before we met. Of course, he asked that I meet him 17 miles out from my home, on the W&OD trail at some place in Vienna, so I'd already put in my fair share, as well.
I arrived before him, ate half of a turkey panini, and drank coffee. It was raining lightly outdoors. The forecast said it was supposed to clear up after noon. We said hello and chatted for a while. Since I detached emotionally months ago, this was no big deal for me. I was just glad to have someone to ride with.
So, then, we rode. Together, we logged 50 miles. It rained the entire time, and we didn't stop. It was pretty rough. But also fun. At the end, I was glad to get in my metric century ride.
We tried to chat as we rode, but as the miles wore us down, conversation became sparse, and was replaced by a camaraderie born of shared misery.
"J" talked about his time in Ranger training. During a 27 hour hike through the forest, in the rain, he said you cycled through a series of emotions. First, you were pissed off. You were angry at the situation and the rain. When the anger burned out, it was replaced by self-pity and sadness. Then there was absurdity, and then a brief moment of zen acceptance. Then the cycle started over again. Everyone on the hike was going through the same cycle, but not at the same pace. So it was trouble when you were in a laughing-absurd mood when the guy next to you was pissed off.
I suppose most of life is this way. We encounter our friends at different phases of their mood cycle. Sometimes we're in synch, sometimes not.  It isn't personal. It's just part of the long march.