I started this post using a WWII era typewriter… it suffered a catastrophe failure as I typed my thoughts regarding 9/11. Using a typewriter built for use in war to type about peace in our war against terror… means this 75 year old tool ended its service in words for good…
If I were thinking in a logical manner… the expense to overhaul a 20 year old bike would not be worth it. But what price is joy? When you ride a bike over 8,000 miles it is impossible to recall old memories as you add new ones. What price is a unexpected smile… a retrieved feeling? Not an old bike at all… a memory retrieval tool that also creates new ones… such a thing is priceless!
My favorite bicycle pedal has been discontinued… which gives me a choice of buying up old stock or re-building the existing pedals for the rest of my biking life. Or… I could explore and find a replacement…
I like to type on a 107 year old typewriter… but using old pedals is something else!!
In the decade I stopped bowling I recalled all the good moments… the league championships, the 300 game; I convinced myself I had been a good bowler and each year transformed myself into a near great one. When I returned to league bowling this year… I sucked… so I worked hard to regain my old skills. Only when I started bowling on a level my delusions recalled did I learn I had become the bowler I wanted to be and never had been. Just think… this would never have happened if I had settled for reality.
Some of us reach the point where we realize that if we were on the game show Survivor, we would be voted off early. The degree of deception and rejection of ethics is just beyond our abilities…
When I ride my bicycle across the state of Iowa. I see people on bikes that look like they cost $79.95 who pass me and finish strong. I see people on bikes that list for over $10,000 and they fail to reach the end of the ride. If I were a better person I would feel the same about every bike and every rider. Yet I look at those on a heavy bike, few gears and I know they do what I can not. I look at those on an expensive machine and I have problems understanding why they fail to finish. I am human and I am being unfair… and I know I am blessed to have ridden 20 times across the state and that every rider on every bike deserves praise for their efforts. Its why I keep going back…
In just 4 years, Iowa will host the 50th bicycle ride across the state. I can just imagine all the people who will return for one last ride… as well as the many thoughts of those who no longer take to the road but still ride in our thoughts.
800 training miles and I made it across the state of Iowa on my Bicycle. Approx. 440 miles in 7 days of perfect weather and wonderful people. On the forth day I caught up to the 92 year old rider (it felt great to get a head of him). However not much time had passed when I heard applause and music… a man playing the violin passed me. In one town people danced to a jazz band (some danced with their bikes).
The temps stayed in the 70’s or low 80’s which was perfect for being on a long ride. At one point we even rode on a expressway (the cops asked we keep it under 65 (people along the road commented “You could go faster…”.
I still can not get around the concept of repeating a wrong…. because someone else started it leads to anything good!
I have finished my letter writing (519), and getting back to typing and riding and reading… the same old… same old…
