I don’t get permission….but it’s so good….

I don’t have permission to post this.

I don’t know how to get permission.

I should get permission.

It’s illegal not to get permission.

But….this is too good not to share.

It’s a short article from the Oct 2014 issue of an excellent magazine called Bicycle Times that Beth Puliti wrote.

I hope she’s not P.O.’ d that I shared it.

“How can you afford it?”

Man….that’s a question that keeps me grounded and in a static place….marooned in the familiar while I look out my window and watch the funhogs zoom by on mountain and road bikes…watching while they laugh and have fun in the Carolina sunshine.

And….Beth Puliti answers that question well in this short article.

Turns out….it’s a question of priorities….it’s a matter of working towards a goal that, when realized, turns out to more affordable than you think.

Some of the best experiences in my life have been ones where I spent very little money.

I guess that I just have to remember that.

I don’t have permission to scan and distribute this article.

It’s a great article.

I hope I don’t get prosecuted or “cease and desisted”.

I couldn’t afford that.

Don’t sue me, Beth Puliti.

Don’t sue me, Bicycle Times.

Thanks for a great article, Beth.
bicycle times oct 14 article puliti 001

long trip to the mall

So….what do these kids these days like to do with their time?

Go to the Mall?

Of course, I’m kidding……

But, really….what do these kids these days like to do?

I know that mine don’t like to go to the mall.

Our mall stinks.

I should know….I worked there for 5 years.

It’s not a destination.

But, even if the mall was good, I don’t think that my kids would want to hang out there.

That’s not how we roll.

Speaking of “rolling”….check out what this young guy did….cycled from Canada to Mexico.

That’s a long trip to get to the mall.

I’m just saying that to try and make a point.

What’s the point?

The point…..the point?….Oh…..the point is that not everybody wants to go to the mall.

I don’t want to go to the mall….this kid doesn’t want to go to the mall.

Who in their right mind wants to go hang out at the mall?

Not me.

What do these kids these days like to do?

Probably the same things I like to do….maybe with a little more energy.

Canada to Mexico.

Good job.

These kids these days….acting like people doing interesting things.

Who knew that kids are people, too?!

 

Check out these funhogs.

One is my friend Dusty’s daughter, Honey.

good news, long haul

I don’t remember ever hearing anything about this guy on the “news”.

Of course, he cycled from Alaska to Florida to raise people’s consciousness about all the “good things” that were going on in the world.

That’s not “newsworthy” in the typical way we’ve come to expect.

If something hasn’t fallen down or apart, it’s not going to make the news.

That’s what “news” is, after all….helping us keep track of all the bad things that are happening to all the people…..all over the world.

Who could afford to keep track of the good things happening around us if we need to pay attention to all the bad things happening everywhere?

If you were going to break this effort down to “just” the athleticism of what this guy did, it’s pretty impressive.

He cycled from Alaska to Florida in 35 days…..averaging about 123 miles per day.

That’s pretty darn impressive.

This was an effort that he funded himself, too…no big organization behind him, no corporate money….just a dude with a lot of endurance and a good heart….out in the world on a bicycle…..reminding people that there are still good things that happen in our lives.

Pretty cool.

Here’s a link to his website….. campaignforgoodnews.org

How many stories about good people doing good things aren’t we hearing on the “news”?

 

bees don’t ride bikes

I heard the other day that the bee keepers said that they’d lost 45% of the bees in their hives.

I don’t think that they meant that they didn’t know where they were.

I think that they meant that they’d died.

That’s a BAD THING.

Bees sting me sometimes….but we better have some bees in the world for things to keep going well.

It’s bad business for these bees to disappear.

If the bees all go….we’re SCREWED!!!

How’s that for a fun way to wake up? Thinking about bees and Armageddon?

I was going to write about bees and bees disappearing and all the little things that make the world go round and how the world is changing and how we better DO SOMETHING ….quick…..and then….the moth must have flown in front of the flame or something….because I found this REALLY GROOVY YouTube movie about a cross-country bike trip from back in the day when HUFFY AND JC PENNEY WERE POWERHOUSES IN THE WORLD OF CYCLING….and….I got distracted again.

Now, that’s when men were men and ladies were ladies….back in the days of tube socks and white shorts.

They didn’t need helmets because they had DISC BRAKES.

That’s cool.

Bees can die…and we’d never notice….but put on a pair of red, white and blue tube socks and people sit up and pay attention.

Give me a snappy tune and a bicycle and the world can go to Hell in a handbasket and I probably wouldn’t even notice.

Until I got stung by the last bee standing.

Until I got stung for the last time….and I looked around and finally noticed that nothing was growing anymore.

I better enjoy my honey while I can.

(DISC BRAKES!!!!)

somewhere….the road gets smooth

Sometimes….the road we ride is smooth as glass.

Sometimes….it’s a bunch of speed bumps….endlessly uncomfortable.

I was curious what bicycle touring is like in Mexico.

Surely, it can’t all be like this? That would be crazy. Roads like this would explain why all the drug cartels are shooting everybody in sight.

It’s not the drugs….it’s the roads that are making the people so crazy.

Check out the dog in the basket….he’s not enjoying the bumpy roads, either.

That’s good tourism, though….spread the word, “The roads are crappy in Mexico!! Keep your hands on the handlebars, keep looking down, and don’t notice the big blue sky and the wide open vistas!! There’s nothing to see here except a bumpy highway straight out of Hell !!”

That should keep the tourists away.

That should keep Mexico unspoiled…except for driving or riding a bike.

I don’t know about Mexico for bicycle touring….maybe it would be good….but where can you go where the banditos won’t get you?

Where can you go anywhere in the world where the banditos won’t get you?

You could drive down my road and some “bandito” with a rebel flag flapping in the breeze could give you a mighty hassle.

Or….nothing could happen and you might just enjoy the day.

What does Jenny tell me?

“Form follows thought.”

That’s it.

Maybe the roads aren’t so bad in Mexico?

Maybe I should get out a map?

Talk to the locals?

Stand up in the saddle when I start to get jarred by the speedbumps?

Topes stink.

Who needs something that just slows us down, anyway?

Momentum is hard enough to achieve on its own.

Job….again.

bad brakes

I replaced the brake master cylinder in the Jeep on our “fun day” this past weekend.

Saturday is the “fun day”.

Saturday is the day when potentially good things can happen.

Saturday is my day off.

Saturday morning, good things weren’t happening , so I told Jenny that I was going to replace the master cylinder on the Jeep, and, after getting my tools together and getting the new part that I’d squirreled away in the back room, went out to do the job.

I “bench bled” it….just like the instructions said….took off the old one ….installed the new one….went to test it…and, of course, didn’t have any pedal.

There must be air in the system.

So….I got my mason jar and clear plastic tubing contraption that I use to help bleed the brakes, got the big floor jack from storage, jacked up the car and removed the back wheel, got set up with the tubing and mason jar, put my wrench on the bleeder, turned it gently….and the rusty bleeder broke off.

&*!!!!@#!!!!*&!!!!!!*&*!!!!     (!)

OH, SNAP!!! THIS WAS TURNING BAD worse FAST.

So…I got in the minivan and drove to the parts store….and bought two new wheel cylinders.

That was the only way to fix it….and the old wheel cylinders were toast anyway.

They needed to be replaced a long time ago.

I may as well do the job right if I’m going to do it, RIGHT?

When I got home, I started to put the wheel cylinder on….and the nut on the hard line was frozen to the line…..rusted tight….so the only way….even after a lot of PB Blaster and intense concentration….to get it off was to tear up the line….twist the nut off and BREAK STUFF MORE!!!

SNAP, SNAP, SNAP, SNAP, SNAP…..SNAP!!!

So…it was back to the parts store to see if they could help me match up a piece of steel brake line that I could bend into shape and use to replace the broken one.

And….that’s what happened.

After a lot of trips back and forth to town…..I put the car back together….bled the brakes….got everything working again….put away my tools….and started trying to calm down.

It is ENERGIZING to have things not go well with CAR REPAIR.

Of course, it wasn’t pleasant that our “fun day” had turned to such complete crap….and the duration of the crappy day had extended on into the evening.

That didn’t endear me to everyone.

That’s a short version of a long story….it’s hard to condense 8 hours into a few paragraphs and do the PAIN justice.

But….the reason I mention it is that, in the midst of the grease and snapping rust, I actually thought……”Man, I must have screwed up BIG TIME for God to curse this day like this”.

Of course I screwed up. That’s irrelevant. I screw up. That’s what I do.

But….it sure didn’t take much to make me question something like that.

Rusted parts and gravel imprinted knees and a sore back and a whole lot of frantic driving….and I’m wondering why I’ve been forsaken?

What a weiner.

Read the story of Job again, Peter.

You’ve got a lot to learn.

 

(that’s not MY brake drum….it’s just a picture I found on the internet….)

 

“don’t wanna fight no more” Alabama Shakes

 

 

 

dude…alone.

This is why I find myself obsessed with bicycle touring right now…..the kind of stuff this dude is doing.

Look at where this young guy is going…..on a bicycle.

Good grief….it’s beautiful.

This is a beautiful video….if you watch any of the ones that I post, this is one of the really good ones.

I guess that you can get to most of these places in a car.

But….there’s a lot that you can’t get to unless you’re on foot or riding a bicycle.

That’s the interesting stuff.

I guess that it’s kind of like when we occasionally get up to the Parkway.

All of the places that are pretty easy to get to….that you can drive right up to….are horribly crowded….congested….but if you can find a place to park….and can get up and away from the road a little bit….you often have the place to yourself.

I don’t think that people want to work very hard for their “view”.

Maybe people can’t work very hard for their view?

Maybe a scenic overlook is a good compromise for the folks who can’t hike very far.

Maybe it’s good that they can at least drive around and stop at something pretty for a moment.

I guess that if you’re willing to work a little, it’s still possible to do something good where there aren’t a lot of people.

Anyway, this isn’t about folks in Lincoln Continentals touring the Blue Ridge Parkway.

LOOK AT THIS DUDE!!

Look at the places he’s going!!!

This is the good stuff.

That’s what I’m talking about.

 

the same story….again?

I may be becoming the old man who tells the same story again and again.

Now, of course, the reason I tell it may be that I think that it’s a tremendous story….and my memory doesn’t help me avoid repetition.

It’ll be “Hey!! Did you hear the one about?….”

and, then…..a couple of months….or weeks…or, if things really degrade, a couple of hours or even minutes, later….”Hey!! Did you hear the one about?”.

Maybe if the story is good enough, it will be worth sitting through the endless repetition.

Hopefully, the people who are still around me have kind hearts and patient, willing ears.

Anyway….a long introduction ….because I can’t remember if I’ve already blogged about this video.

It’s a good one….so maybe repetition is OK.

Maybe something good is worth repeating? Over….and over…..and over…..and ….over?

Maybe my motto should be “just keep the pedals spinning”….even if it’s to go somewhere that you’ve visited before.

It’s better to think something good over and over than to never think at all….or to only dwell on an endless loop of negativity.

Just keep the pedals spinning……

Big burn pile over at the property yesterday.

Good that a big pile can go down to ash so quickly…..and that the thing that’s burning is of my choosing.

It’s a drag when the fire takes something unexpected.

That would not be good.

All these bike touring videos…..

Something must be trying to float up from the shallow pool of my subconscious….some longing….or …..something.

What am I thinking?

That, while the summer breeze is blowing cool in the Carolinas, it might be nice to get out and spin the pedals some…..see something new….figure out how to tow the kids in carts and tagalong bikes to someplace interesting…..maybe a campsite by the dunes or a shaded forest cabin?

Other people have done it.

Surely, “other people” have done it.

What’s the difference between “other people” and us?

Just a willingness to see the possible?

Or….are they just a whole lot smarter?

 

 

Adventure Cycling Association

Adventure Cycling Association sent me some information a couple of weeks ago…..and yesterday, they sent me a sample issue of their newsletter/magazine.

Man…that’s a cool organization.

Now, of course, it IS a little harder to do this kind of thing with really little guys.

That’s a little harder.

But….when I showed her a video of some people riding their bikes, my little daughter, Sparrow, said, “BIKE!!”….so the interest is there….even in a little one like that.

We have so much fun on the Swamp Rabbit Trail in SC….and, like the fellow says at the end of the video, the important thing is to just get on the bike…..and have fun….go get some ice cream.

My kids will put themselves through a lot with the carrot of a big bowl of ice cream looming ahead of them.

That’s the way to get them travelling through the Dakotas…..tell them, “Kids! In 250 miles, Daddy is going to stop and get you a really nice ice cream cone!!”

Who wouldn’t pedal for hours inspired by the promise of a nice ice cream cone?

Wellllllllll…..We’ll see, won’t we? Do they make panniers for really little children’s bikes?

They better not hold me up…..I’d hate to have to stop every ten miles to wait for those little squirts.

But…..that’s how you grow up….

You’ve got to push yourself….even if you’re only 2 years old.

You’ve got to hit the ground running….even if you’re still toddling.

Here’s the link for the Adventure Cycling Association.

if life is coming down…..

I could walk up the hill….and if I convinced myself that it was something a little “different” from what I always do, I’d be happier….every step, I’d be happier.

It’s funny how it works like that…the happiness is something that we just need to notice again….not necessarily “place” specific.

Nah….that’s too much power.

That’s too much responsibility.

That’s too much control.

I do need some occasional variety, though….even though I eat the same peanut butter sandwich every day for lunch, I do need some variety.

The full title of this video is “If life is coming down, travel by bike-France”.

That’s a good one….looks pretty enticing to be cooking on a little stove on some French beach….eating some cous cous.

Now, that’s a good time!!

What doesn’t have the potential to be a “good time”, though?

I have a good time in the place I wake up at everyday….watching my kids discover something new in our small corner of the world.

This looks like fun, though….discovering France….or, maybe….Switzerland?

A GOPRO….a good soundtrack….a couple of bikes….or six…..and a beautiful country to ride through.

That might be fun…..

Check out this couple’s website http://otravidaesposible.org/index.html .

It looks like they do some good work….in addition to having what looks like a lot of fun.