"You can change the speed laws, but you can't change the laws of physics"
Hi, and welcome back to my bike blog.
Other Cyclists
Today, my dad told me of a conversation he had with a friend. He mentioned that I was
biking across the states, from Miami to Portland, and without missing a beat, the
friend said: "oh! He's going against the wind." Apparently, it's conventional
wisdom amongst cyclists that the prevailing winds in the US are westward. At least
until you get to the greener areas where forests mute the winds at ground level.
I've heard many pieces of advice from other cyclists. Good routes, bad routes,
good bars, bad areas, horror stories about car accidents, and a lot of "oh, you've
gotta pass through ______." After biking this long, I already know what I like,
and it's a bit annoying when other cyclists shit on it. I've recently met someone
who tried very hard to convince me to take a different route from the freeway. He had
the best intentions, but really pushed hard for this path that is famous
amongst cyclists crossing the country.
Why would I want to meet other cyclists along my route? To talk shop? To exchange stories?
To criticize each other and try to one-up the hardships and challenges? Most times I meet other
cyclists along the way, it makes me feel bad about myself and the way I ride.There's
an entire culture here of people who do long distance biking. They optimize their bikes,
they visit pre-marked bike-friendly towns, and climb summits just to grab coffee at a
shack that only caters to passing cyclists, and gives them badges when they visit.
I've been guilty of this too. In cycling, in math, and in life general. I give plenty
of unsolicited advice, and often do have a one-up tone in conversations. When I talk to
other cyclists, I see them thinking of themselves as biking "the right way,"
and I always have a possibly unjustified feeling that I am being judged for doing things
"the wrong way." I'd like to start perpetuating the idea that biking can be fun
"in any way."
Teesie told me that she sometimes uses a motorized assist on her bike rides. She still
has to pedal, but the assistance helps her keep up with the cohort, and prevents
injury. She told me that some have refused to bike with her because of it. Teesie's
story made me think about the people I exclude for not doing things "intensely enough." I
did it a lot when I would go canoe tripping, making fun of car campers, and people coming in
for just one night near the road. I used to do it with people who didn't study math.
I bet I made a lot of people feel bad. I bet none of them deserved it for doing what they enjoyed
and what they were able to do. There is an abelism aspect to this, but I'll leave it as
homework. It pains me to say this, but I think I'm gonna be ok with e-bikes using bike
lanes.
The Image Gallery
Pendleton is very proud of an annual rodeo that happens towards the end of the summer. This bucking
horse statue marked the location of the rodeo stadium (behind it).
For the first time, I decided to stop at a rest area instead of at a gas station or
by the side of the road. It's quite nice! There's benches, shaded grass, free water, and
stuff to read about the area. If there were showers, and I had another few days on the road, I'd
definitely use them as camping spots.
The Columbia River is finally in sight!
Picked up a friend along the way...
So I had noticed that both of my tires were a little short of breath,
and when I stopped to examine them, I saw that both were losing air! First time
I got a double flat, and I don't know what caused it!
For those who either have not paid respect yet, or would like to pay respect again,
press F to pay respects:
Yes, I know, I should have put comment boxes on every day. I've made a compromise by adding a comments box to the index page.
I fixed my back tire successfully, but my front tire was still struggling, and so I replaced the
inner-tube. Very quickly afterwards, I got a nice view of the river
And a train passed by
Far in the distance, you can see Mt. Hood.
A scenic turn of the highway, with the windmills loving the wind.
The sun started setting.
I arrived at Arlington while it was getting dark, and everything had
already closed, except for a gas station that was in the process of closing. I walked in, bought
a bunch of those shelf-stable baked goods, the rest of those deep-fried trash foods, and some chips,
called it dinner, and took a room at the motel across the street.
The Map
Today I biked for almost 120km over the course of seven hours and 20 minutes. My total uphill was around 350m, but my main enemy
today was the wind. The area between Pendleton and The Dalles is always windy, and today, when the wind was just
picking up, I decided to push to Arlington, and jump right into the wind. Boy, was it tough, but I now know what it's
going to be like in the next two days.
