It’s time to take my bike on a vacation.
It’s been entirely too long since it’s been outside of the Pisgah National Forest, and we’re ready to be somewhere warm and dry. Not that it’s been all that cold here.
I haven’t even bothered to scrape the caked dirt out from beneath the downtube since November. The derailleur still moves, and is somewhat new, so there’s a start. Maybe I’ll give it a good scrub and take it to the Southwest. We need a good roll in the sage.
The stressful tide of events has been gathering speed for a good year now. It’s possible that there are still a few more miles to cover, but surely the worst of it is over? For all I know, this is the new status quo. Just in the same way that it’s never a “good” time to have a baby, I think it’s also never a “good” time to take a holiday. I think it’s best just to jump ship every once in a while between the storms. It’s the return that always sucks the most anyway. There’s always that week of post-vacation punishment where you are confronted with what was blown off before you left, what was coming due once back, and what you didn’t realize couldn’t live without you. Then there’s always a little pearl on top: the emergency that occurred, like a flood, fire, or robbery.
But let’s not worry our heads about that when there are maps over which to pour! The Northwest is always a treat, but I guess that means the bike would be left behind for a snowboard. Then again, so many of my beloved friends are out there now that it could be an excellent way to spend a week frolicking whilst drinking beer from the back of a horse.
California would be fun, but I might be tempted to visit family. I won’t even get into what could happen in that scenario.
Maybe I need to start poking my homies here for some vacation assistance, but then it might become a dirt bike trip with the girls instead. We’ve already fantasized about it for two years now – prom dresses and dirt bikes on the Trans American Trail from Colorado to Oregon. Never mind the part between here and Colorado, which can be done on a shorter trip.
But wait, that’s the wrong kind of bike. Maybe the Continental Divide? Ok, just a part of it. I can’t bear the thought of being away from my children for more than a week just yet.
Although I just got invited on a paddling trip down the Colorado…how often does one catch the lottery?!
Back to bikes…MEXICO! Where there’s a combination of bikes, sun and imbibing, combined with great food and cheap tequila. Hola!
