Flat tires, route changes, unexpected adventures – just keep pedaling. This bike ride (only 1 week for me) has been such a fascinating microcosm of life filled with beauty, adventure, and thrills. But life also has unexpected detours, hazards, and challenges to overcome.
Yesterday (the 2nd day of riding for me) took an unfortunate turn when my bike blew out 2 tires in the short span of 8 miles on the gravel road conditions. My road bike was not equipped to handle this sort of gravel terrain, and I had to make a decision between purchasing a new gravel bike, or purchasing extra bike tubes and make due with what I had. I like to be frugal and save money, but with only 90 min before the local bike shop closed, I grudgingly decided to purchase a new bike after mauling over the pros and cons while drinking an afternoon cocktail at the restaurant next door. Today reaffirmed my purchase, because without the new gravel bike, I would not have been able to complete this leg of the journey that had roughly 40 miles of unpaved gravel roads. Sometimes you do need to splurge on the right gear for the right job – it’s the cost of business with adventures and life.
In life, it’s not a matter of “if you will fall” it’s a matter of when, and today was one of those days (literally). As we were navigating through some particularly tricky gravel, one of Rick’s tires slipped and skidded causing his bike to make a sudden 90 degree pivot and halt. I was following a little too close at the time and clipped his rear tire causing us both to immediately fall over since we’re both clipped into our bike pedals. Thankfully neither of us was seriously injured. Falling isn’t fun, but it’s a lot more manageable when you have good company to laugh it off with. Sometimes when you fall, all you can do is laugh with a good friend.
Turns out, GPS apps don’t always accurately calculate the milage for bike routes. What we thought was going to be a 72 mile bike ride turned out to be 80 miles. Routes change (distance, path, and time) and this week of riding has made me reflect on how I deal with “route” changes in my own life. So often I want a perfectly planned route of my life to go exactly as I planned, but often times the best rides rarely go as planned. It’s ironic that the adventure our souls crave almost exclusively comes with risk and unforeseen obstacles to overcome.
Flat tires – eventually “Murphy” gets us all. I had my turn the last 2 days, and today was Rick’s turn. With 14 miles left of the day’s segment, Rick’s rear tire kicked up a shinny object and began to make that dreadful hissing sound of a flat tire. Rick has a fancy bike for this epic bide ride, but this was his first flat tire with his new bike and there were a few particularly unique aspects with this bike that made changing a tire for the first time a little tricky. Thankfully we figured it out together and got back on the trail, but it was a good reminder about the importance of not doing life alone. There are countless proverbs about the benefits of good friends and wise mentors – that’s how I met Rick and I’ve been extremely blessed with all of the insight he’s shared, but more so just as a friend to walk through life with.
It’s late now and we have more riding tomorrow, but if you’ve made it this far in the blog I thank you for your time and letting me share some of my experience in this. It’s been a true pleasure joining Rick and Marry-Beth in this adventure.
rickallendunn 
Leave a comment