3/1/26

Vultures circle above a Virginia farm …everyone knows that something has died. 

A farmer looks at me, his temporary teenage summer help, and says “go find out what has died and bury it”. Bouncing on an old tractor through fallow fields I approach the scene to find a rotting calf who  has died from blow fly infestation…vultures feasting around. The stench is unbelievable. I returned to explain to the farmer what’s happened and again somewhat irritated he says “well go bury it boy”.

The moment calls for creativity so I stuff my nostrils with cotton balls soaked in Aqua Velva and sprinkle a few drops all over my clothes. 

It takes me nearly 6 hours to bury the cow. 

The next day still reeking of the aftershave cologne, I’m given a new assignment of cleaning out the farm’s grease traps and hauling the liquid garbage along with buckets mammalian waste to the dump. 

Half way there I stall the van on a steep hill and jackknife the trailer I’m pulling in tow…half ton of waste cascades down the hill. 10 minutes later a state  patrolman arrives and gagging at the multitude of aromas stands off at a distance unsure what to do. Luckily a thunderstorm approaches so he tells me to load up what I can and move along…No tickets for me that day…he can’t get close to me for the smells…

I never drive  a van and trailer again…

until now…

This year I have decided be a route leader on the various MS rides, the Floridian Coast, the Trans  Am and the C&O Canal.

I will still be able to ride but just every other day…most of my responsibilities will be helping the full time riders along the way. 

In the past, I have been ambivalent to take on this role …not being able to ride every day…and more importantly avoiding the van and trailer again.

Sooner or later time moves on…

I drive from Blacksburg to Fernadina   Beach to start , an easy highway route. My first leader training session is today from St Augustine’s to Smyrna Beach. Half way there we stop on a deserted beach parking lot for “backing up practice”.

It goes well.

40 miles on we arrive at our hosts church 

and I slowly back 

the van and trailer into the night’s stall. Amazing! I do it with unsuspecting ease.

Success will breed success, I firmly believe this…as long as no mammalian wastage is in tow. I will drive again tomorrow…

Appalachia 

The Ozarks 

The Rockies

 and the  Sierra Nevadas

Here I come

2/28/26

She can barely walk her ankle is so swollen from Achilles tendinitis.

 She has just joined us on the ride in Eastern New York following a wedding … not there at the start in Bar Harbor.

She readily admits that her training has not been great and the tendinitis is a direct result . I’m concerned that she may not get very far on the Northern Tier, but I start her on naproxen  and ride with her for the next week. Through the Grace of her youthful 25 years  and hellbent determination, the Achilles tendinitis resolves and she rides on without pain.

Three or four weeks later somewhere in the Midwest she and another rider pass the threshold of novice to become experienced  riders and finally show themselves to be “Wildflowers” (see the stories of June 18 and 19th of 2018).

We finish the ride in Seattle with much mutual joy. 

There’s an Aesop fable about a mouse and a lion .The lion catches a young  mouse and is about to eat her when squeaks from below beg for mercy saying that someday she will return the favor. The lion laughs and says there is no way something so small could ever help but decides to lets the mouse go. Some years later, the lion is caught in a trap of ropes… vulnerable and  old. The mouse now grown  comes along , sees the struggling  and offers to help by gnawing  through the tightened ropes. The lion bounds away free and the favor is returned.

I have often  thought of that lesson.  

Now, eight years later, I am riding  again with one of the Wildflowers. I have not seen her in all that time and barely communicated with her. The trek  from Jacksonville to Key West is about 700 miles and she has decided to join the team. We hug and embrace and I meet her parents for the first time.

Today I ride 70 miles the longest I’ve ridden in nearly a year and a half. Injuries and work commitment have kept me from long rides and recently the winter has been very difficult with much snow …outside training has been impossible. I ask if I can ride with her since I know I will be slow and she readily agrees . More importantly, I know that she has computerized maps  on her bike …she can lead the way and I will not have to worry about changing glasses all the time to read the map of the route.

When we reach the second rest stop at 55 miles I amble over  to her and ask if I should “pull a White Rabbit ” and speed ahead. 

With a slight smirk on her face, she says “ Well , do you have any idea where you’re going?” and I realize the answer is no. 

A smile confirms her suspicion and she says “ I think it’s best that you stay behind me so I can get you there”. 

As payback for the many  times  I “dumped her“ on the Northern Tier  in 2018 (near the end of routes for her experience ) she dumps me about 8 miles from the edge of  Saint Augustine’s leaving  me to fend  for myself .

I can  only look back and think of the mouse, which today gnawed  through the ropes and got me almost home…

It’s a good thing I have a Guardian Angel  who led me safely the last 8 miles.