Chasms of Denial

Yesterday marked the 6 month anniversary of the worst environmental disaster in the history of our addiction to oil and I am feeling guilty.

Interesting how quickly I forgot about this disaster. I remember vague terms like, top kill, top hat, corexit, dispersant, dead, ravaged, economy, Cajun, and culture, but these terms would quickly fade as I went about my daily routine. Until yesterday.

Terry - friend, hero, activist, author, inspiration, instructor - has just published a compelling piece about the Gulf oil spill in Orion Magazine, The Gulf Between Us. I feel Terry provides us with a view of the Gulf we have not seen before - first by giving a voice to those who are living / trying to live in Ground Zero, and secondly, making the argument that we are All in this together.

I've read it and feel an overwhelming urge to share it. Please take a look at it if you haven't already, then forward it on to your friends, loved ones - everyone.

Day 2: Wrong Season...Wrong Road

As I mentioned the descent from Big Mountain was a great time - definitely a new experience descending on a loaded touring bike. The weight on the front wheel seemed to make it a bit squirmy, taking hands off the handlebars was not really an option. Braking was a bit different as well - I found feathering the brakes rather than riding them was effective at keeping my speed in check. I can see how brake pads are a necessary part of any touring repair kit though.
Brandon and I stopped at East Canyon Resort to fill our water bottles, and to check in and then we headed toward Henefer.
Neither of us had experience riding this road and we were both impressed. After passing the turn-off to HWY66 we saw three cars, a motorcycle, numerous hawks, and countless sheep. A wonderful section of road to ride.
We passed through Henefer and headed toward Coalville. Once we reached Echo reservoir we hit a strong headwind, but took turns pulling. It is really nice to have a partner to trade off with in a wind. I am not talking about a pace line, but more like a rest line where you don't have to eat the wind the whole time. It makes an amazing difference in the amount of energy you have to expend getting from point A to B.
In Coalville we stopped for lunch at the City Building.
It is interesting how a loaded touring bike becomes a magnet for conversation. It seemed that every time we stopped there was a curious bystander who wanted to know where we were headed, and how the trip was going - certainly a big difference from riding in a road kit or commuting where people typically don't give you the time of day. Lunch was no different where we shared a picnic table with a couple who rode a tandem from Salt Lake City and were halfway through a century for the day. Nice folks!
After lunch and a pint of chocolate milk we saddled up and embarked on a ride up Chalk Creek road, en route to HWY150 and this is where the story gets interesting...
Chalk Creek road is about as good as a road gets for bicycle riding - probably even better than HWY 65. Rolling through a picturesque valley with a tailwind looking at the mountains in the distance, green fields in the valley and enormous cloud shadows passing over the landscape was a wonderful experience. We pedaled through the valley and made a wrong turn.
It is important to digress for a moment and say that I was in charge of maps for this trip. In my defense I felt as though I knew the country well enough to forgo detailed section maps. Lesson learned...
Once we found the corner of Wyoming and Utah we expected about 10 miles of a gravel county road across a high plateau. The road started out as we expected, but then just kept going and going. The farther we went the more it deteriorated as well.
Cresting a hill it seemed like all of southern Wyoming lay ahead, with no inkling of pavement, people, or civilization. Another disconcerting fact is that the road quickly became more of an ORV trail than a road. Questions formed in my mind about whether or not we were on the right road, if it would take us to a dead end or be snowed in. Lack of a map, or specific local knowledge led us to pushing forward and hoping for the best. Serendipity found us when we crested yet another hill and had the chance to chat with a rancher woman mending sheep fence. We asked where we were, where the road led, and where we could find good water. She answered our questions with a quizzical expression, but also said she appreciated seeing people on this road who were not on an ORV. We bid her good day and pushed on to a creek to get water and consider our options. Luckily Brandon is the intrepid adventurer and was up for some tough sledding the next few miles. The road was everything the woman described, to steep, muddy and wet to ride. Our average speed and morale dropped, but we were heading in the right direction!
More tomorrow...

Just Ride

I commute from my house to work and graduate school five days a week. Five of those days I ride my bike. Truth be told, I would not want to do it any other way. The time I spend riding gives me a chance to think, breathe, and enjoy being outside. Rather than driving a box from one box to another I am moving myself outside the box, in the world that I love. I stumbled over a great photo from the Salsa Cycles Blog and thought I would share.

Riding bikes is what it is all about.

Remember when you were a kid and you just rode your bike because you loved to ride and didn't have anything else to do? I challenge myself to get back to this feeling every once in awhile. It seems that most times I ride to get from one place to another, or for a workout. I still enjoy the ride, but for reasons other than the fact that I love to ride.

I have to remind myself that it is about the ride. Not about the bike, the kit, the tires or the components. Just ride...