The Bumps in All Beginnings

You may pay the minimum for a Randonee. See the 'what you should know' section in this blog to know exactly why riding a bike for a long distance is a good idea. Please see the back of this post, (or the back side of that good journey) for all the clues you need to get you there safely and without care. In other words, forget all about casualty ins.

Because 1 mile from the house, your rear panier will fall off, the hill that you rode a dozen times with an unloaded bike will have stretched its running yellow lines already. In the hour that you left the 100+ year old trees that would be struck by lightning and come tumbling onto the C&O canal may already be earmarked by natures hand for harvest. And you and the newest bike you've owned in years will be caked with trail grime long before sunset. Enjoy those raw almonds for dinner you nut!

You can make your check payable to Shak Hill. P.O. box 3575 Akron, OH. Remember to include your policy number and allow five days for delivery. Nope. No guarantees--not of safety, success, or even a good time. The one thing you can rely on, is that in nine hours, the sun will come up, and it will be light enough to ride on.

First Purchase: fork stem
Cost: $29.95
Place: 115 West German Street, Shepherdstown, WV 25443
Ask for: Jamie
Why: an 8 hour pinch between the shoulders

A bike is a timeless machine, as anyone who has been sucked into the vortex of spinning wheels will tell you.

Last year, during the month of September, I road nearly 1900 miles between where my wife and I live in Arlington VA, to my home town of Vernal in Utah. It was an unforgettable journey. In the coming weeks, I will document some of the most compelling moments of the trip--most of them surprise encounters with the people along the way. A few key phrases will guide the documentation:

• Fork-Stem False Start: $29.95 and the bumbs in all beginnings
• "Persistence Furthers" --David Lerner 
• Brewsky in Frostburg and other memories of foaming drinks at high altitude 
• Jody Patton--the patient photographer
• ____, Missoula Team 
• Pike and Company and why a bike that 'fits' is overrated
• A reflection on Ohio: redefining kindness
• Chicago: The McDonalds Encounter, Persistence Furthers Reprise
• Somonauk: A Personal Definition 
• Ed Brown: A Party Not to Miss
• Muse: Corn, Soy, Grasshopper, Repeat 
• Interlude: Bishop's Biker Bandit 
• Pat's Party Proverb: "I make the kite, but they are the wind."
• The Biker's Shed and why biking is such a big deal in Iowa
• Omaha: Or why bikers should pass through Omaha 
• The Long Road: Stories from route 30 Nebraska 
• Too Much Room in the Inn: The Sedgwick Vision 
• The Stone Man: Magic in the Grasslands 
• Early Winter in the Rockies
• Company on the Road
• Spiritual Ground Zero: More Blue Mountain Magic
• Reunion: Reflection of the Importance of Motion