The first order of business today was a tour of the Roark bicycle factory. Roark makes custom titanium bicycle frames. They are really nice bikes. Several riders wanted to know if I was interested in a new bicycle. I think they are suggesting to me that my bike might be a little old and that if my bike were lighter I could ride faster. That may be true but I like my old bike. Several people have commented that I should at least have indexed shift levers in the brake levers, all modern bikes have these, but I like my downtube shifters. Sure I would like a new bike, but do I need one? Probably not. I can dream of riding like Lance, if only I had a better bike. However if I got a better bike and still couldn’t ride like Lance, I would have to find another reason for my lack of speed. I think I will keep my old bike and my fantasy.
Today’s ride was from Lebanon IN to Richmond IN a ride of 105 miles. We skirted the northern suburbs of Indianapolis on a route that is becoming less attractive each year. Because of our tour we didn’t start riding until 9 AM. That would have been no problem if the winds had been a little better; 6 hours on the bike and half an hour for two stops, in by 3:30. Unfortunately, it was not to be. I rode alone all day today, mostly by choice. All the riders I normally ride with had left before I started and the roads were so nice to start out that liked being on my own. The roads were quiet, a mixture of farm land and exurbs, kind of like Danville and Dublin were 20 years ago. As the ride progressed the area became more like that area today with McMansions and new developments being created out of what was farmland. There was a resemblance to areas around Radnor PA and the outer suburbs of Boston. I am sure that everyone knows of an area like these. They can be OK for riding but as the number of houses increase, the shopping malls come and then the sprawl. It is starting in Indiana, I saw more cement trucks today than I have seen on the whole trip so far. In a few years the route will have to be routed further from Indianapolis.
The next section of the ride was through rural farmland. It was pleasant but most of it had a vicious wind that could most charitably be called a crosswind, but seemed tome to be into my face. It truly beat me up, so that the last 35 miles along US 40 were nowhere near as pleasant as they might have been. US 40 runs parallel ton I70 through a number of small towns that soon will be completely forgotten but in the 40’s and 50’s had a major highway running through Main Street. Richmond where we ended today’s ride is a big city and the traffic on US 40 increased as we got closer to Richmond. However 40 miles from Richmond US 40 is a 4-lane highway with wide shoulders and NO traffic. Several times I rode for over a minute without being passed by a car going in either direction. This was in the middle of the afternoon. If it wasn’t for the two flats I got US 40 would have been a very memorable road. In summary, it took me 7 hours on the bike to cover 105 miles and with stops and flats it was after 5 PM before I got to the Holiday Inn.
Richmond marks our entry into the East. It is the first town where I get the sense that the natural resources in the environment have been used and that regeneration will be close to impossible. There are lots of places in East that are like Richmond and there are some in the West. Richmond CA comes to mind. Our ride has avoided major cities where ever possible, primarily because they are usually not bicycle friendly. We have also seen lots of rural towns that will be only ghosts of there former selves in 10 years and will be all but gone in 20. However, I haven’t gotten the impression that when they disappear the land will be an environmental disaster zone. We can rail against the practice of slash and burn farming in the tropics, but in reality we have been doing the same thing in America, only at a slower rate. America is a great country, with natural resources that can support our present population and more, but we must realize that this seemingly limitless natural bounty can be exhausted if care is not taken. We just seem to be building a new world for those who can afford it and leaving those who can't behind. Is that really the American way?
No comments:
Post a Comment