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.
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.