For the fun of it…

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!

1939 Rheimetall

Being human…

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…

1956 Underwood Quiet Tab

20th Bicycle Ride Across Iowa

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…”.

Images by GEE

I keep rollin along…

Use to be I just looked for the proper sized bicycle tire… now I sort through: road, touring, gravel, cruiser, training, mountain, performance, slick, urban and all sorts of tire types to decide what to ride on.  One site listed a tire as “road” until it reached  the width of 700 x 32 then it transformed into a gravel tire.

1968 Underwood Five