2020, Day 10: Retrospective

This week dad closes up Michigan, as well as his 66th year. As he traverses the northern US border, he's a long way from Route 66, but closer and closer . A sprightly man still biking across the country, is he pedaling away from old age or bravely into it? Either way, he's going not-gently.

Mom, on the other hand, is growing bored. Eight hours in a car is less than ideal for anyone, and isn't much of a birthday treat. As she also nears 66, her birthday promises a whole lotta waiting, audiobooks, and countryside scenery. It's the final and most karmic recompense for the years and years and YEARS without peace she got from her eight children. Hopefully they'll find a nice Denny's or a Red Lobster somewhere in Indiana and get that free ice cream or brownie, though I don't think it really measures up to a yellow cake with chocolate frosting and M&Ms, or a nice lemon jello with some cool whip.

At this age you're bound to reflect a little on the time you've spent, and how well you've spent it. Who better to teach you about the past... maybe even the WAY past... than the Amish? The ultimate keepers of Grandma's adage, "Use it up, wear it out, make it do, or do without. " (Dad's feeling the "wear it out" specifically, since he opted to keep his old cycle rather than use his retirement bonus on a shiny new one. At least this way he doesn't feel too blue when bumps in the road make dents in his wheels.) Maybe Mom and Dad came here to feel modern. Positively youthful! One could argue they're just taking the "gap year" they never claimed at 19, just on a mild delay. Except, this time, no college in front of them to pay for. No babies in diapers, except ones they can give back when they get tired. No stressing about career goals or mortgage payments, bosses or secretaries, commute times or clocking in-- Just a long, long stretch of life to live and enjoy.

From Dad:

I rode 30 miles in the morning, 30 miles in the afternoon, and got my bike repaired in between.

Coming out of Sturgis this morning, after having a nice leisurely ride for a couple of hours, I hit a bump--a BIG bump--and heard something hit the road. I stopped, looked at my electronics--all present and accounted for--so I went back to see what I had lost. I found two pieces of my wheel reflector. When I came back to the bike, I found one spoke bent and another broken. No bike repair shops in Sturgis, but there were a couple of listings in Shipshewana, Indiana, just a few miles away. Turns out Shipshewana is an Amish/Mennonite town. There are horses and buggies everywhere. We found a shop run by a Mennonite (I think) gentleman. He said he would need a few minutes, and invited us to go into town and get something to eat. We went in and took lots of pictures. It’s an amazing town, and we would have missed it completely had we not broken down, because we would have turned the other direction. As it was, we came back after riding and had dinner in one of the restaurants there. Exquisite food--lots of food--and not very expensive.

We finished in Angola, Indiana today. Covered 60 miles in about 5:50 riding time.