What's The Deal THIS Time?
Not everybody uses paper maps anymore. Google Maps and other internet mapping sites are killing the paper map business just as surely as on-line news has killed newspaper circulation, just as surely as RVs killed the tent camping industry, and just as surely as Video Killed the Radio Star. It's technology. It's progress.
Look, I'm not some kind of nutty curmudgeon who says "bah humbug" to progress. Nor am I a nostalgic dreamer of "the good old days." I like technology. I like progress. I do NOT want to go back to a world without transistor radios, rotary dial telephones, cathode ray TV tubes, 8-track tape players, and Deloreans. I do NOT want to go back to a world without powerful laptops, music streaming services, high-definition TVs, Samsung Galaxy Whatever Number They're Up Tos, and self-driving cars.
Nevertheless, I'm glad there are opportunities to escape most of that electronic gadgetry and, for me, one of those opportunities is bike touring. I like to travel on a bike with no motor. I like sleeping in a tent with no electronic temperature controls. I like not having a device to tell me how fast I'm going (or how slow), my degree of ascent, my per diem number of minutes in the saddle, or how totally messed-up my cadence is. I like the absence of any kind of computer screen attached to my handlebars. I like not having one of those robotic voices telling me exactly where to turn or what road to take. I like the idea of inventing a revolutionary, post-internet, route sharing system called "Ride WithOUT GPS."
I guess everything I've written above can be boiled down to this: I like to navigate using maps printed on paper and a bike tour is where I get to appreciate doing things the hard way . . . or die trying. HOWEVER, after three full paragraphs in praise of lo-tech touring, I have to make it clear that that is most definitely not the theme of this journal--especially since a couple of electronics I DO like to have on a bike trip are my smart phone and readily available Wi-Fi.
So, even though nobody asked, I feel compelled to answer two questions:
- Why is Greg introducing another one of his low-distance, non-scientific, non-historic, non-philosophical, non-interesting bike tours with a heavy dose of paper-map apologetics? The answer involves the dotted lines that run along certain highways on the Rand-McNally maps. I have been intrigued by those dotted lines ever since I was a kid. They are America's most scenic routes according to my friends, Mr. Rand and Mr. McNally. And, more than any other source, the dotted lines are my guide for planning this year's bike tour. The dotted lines actually make route planning very easy, which is nice in this case since I don't have a lot of time for research. (Hey, Google Maps, where are YOUR dotted lines?) I do realize, of course, that the dotted lines might not necessarily signify the best roads for cyclists. In fact, it's possible some of them might be the WORST roads for cyclists. The good news is that I passed a freshman-level statistics course in college and, according to my calculations, the dotted lines offer a 99% chance of beauty and only a 2% chance of getting hit by a car. Clearly that proportion favors me big time.
- Why the Inland Northwest? My wife, The Feeshko, and I are going to drive to Seattle to see our son for a few days. Then we'll drive back eastward to Spokane to visit her side of the family. It was The Feeshko's idea to go out there, but it was my idea to turn it into a bike tour for ME. She'll get to spend time with her parents and siblings while I go out on a 3-week bike ride. It's a WIN for both of us! Plus, I come off looking much less selfish than I usually do when I abandon her for one of my little adventures. I must say, that was some pretty good thinking on my part.
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