7/29 Mount Pleasant to Birch Run, Mi.

 

First I must comment on Jake’s comment a few days ago: “good days fade with time but bad days are timeless.” Wrong Jake. Has anyone else noticed that Jake is almost always wrong? With the proper frame of mind, the good days are all you remember. I remember the ride on the Grand Cornish out of Niece, the Gap of Dunloe out of Killarney, Bear-tooth Mountain out of Yellowstone and the Willow City Loop when the bluebonnets are in full bloom. I don’t remember any bad rides. And, if I did, they’d be better than the best day at the office.

Last night some of us had dinner at the Lone Star Steak House. Why are there no Lone Star Steak Houses in the Lone Star State?

                    

Of the 51 riders doing the entire ride, I don’t know of anyone riding in the sag because they’re tired or can’t do the ride. Mostly, if there is anyone, it’s someone who is injured. Poor Joe – a hard core REFI hell or high water rider rode too hard and pulled a muscle so he’s in the van today. Of course it makes him mad, but he’s making the best of it. Well, his luck is not all bad; he did win the Red River Roadkill Rally t-shirt (my contribution)in the t-shirt contest the other evening.

         

Today’s ride was once again familiar – no hills, farmland and some chip-seal roads. Ah! We’re in North Texas. Ok, so it’s a little cooler. Still, today was a casual ride in familiar surroundings. ‘Felt more like a local club ride than an epic ride across the country. --- The only reason we have a photo today is that I took a pee in a cornfield. Otherwise, there was nothing worth photographing.

One thought generated by riding past farms day by day by day – we have too many farms in the US. We need to eliminate farm subsidies, forget this ethanol nonsense and let the free market take hold. Banks and car companies are going bankrupt and farmers should too if the market can’t sustain them.

Back to the Zen question: What is a perfect bike?

• A perfect bike is one you don’t know you’re riding.
• A perfect bike is an extension of you. It responds predictably to your every desire. Maybe it responds before you know where you want to go. It’s like your leg. Do you think about your leg when you’re walking? No, and you don’t think about the bike you’re riding. Most of the time, when I shift I don’t know it.
• A perfect bike it reliable; it never fails you. You assure this with preventative maintenance.
• A perfect bike makes no unanticipated noises. You hear the chain derail when you shift; you hear the free-hub ratchet when you coast; you hear nothing else.
• A perfect bike is a work of art; it is beautiful. But like a woman, it is beautiful in the eyes of the beholder.

Am I riding a perfect bike? So far, yes. In 2,800 miles it has never failed. Never missed a shift. Never dropped the chain. Sometimes there are extraneous noises caused by the handlebar bag and the rough roads, but that is all. There have been three flats but you can’t blame the bike for that.

Day 38, 74 miles, 231 feet gain, 4.7 hrs. 2,865 miles so far

12 days remaining, 870 miles remaining