August 22, 2017
Day 31, Rest Day in Gunnison: Reflections and Ruminations
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Mechanical Issues; Doc’s wheel issue was caused by a developing bump in his rear tire sidewall. The tire was replaced with the only wide 700c tire that could be found in Gunnison.
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Bud speaking;
Warning; today's post is a bit of an unorganized ramble that collects several disjointed thoughts - so you were warned.
We were all ready for a rest day. It’s not that the last 5 days had been hard; one of them was moderately hard, certainly nothing like the hard days in Utah and Nevada; but the constant pace of the overall journey had begun to wear on us. So it was great to get in to the Holiday Inn Express with nice rooms and a great breakfast. Just speaking for myself, I probably ate twice as much as anyone should eat at breakfast this morning; but hey, there would be no second breakfast for me today, so I needed it, right?
I worked on this journal a bit after breakfast, then walked about a half mile to the downtown area to visit a bike shop and see if they carried the brand of rear-view mirror I liked. No luck in that regards, so I walked down to another bike shop where I knew I would find Doc and Sis. They had biked down cause they were going to do some shopping a couple of miles away.
Doc told one of the bike shop mechanics about his wheel issue, and upon close examination they discovered a blister that had developed in the sidewall of his tire. Doc’s tires are Schwalbe Marathon Plus, and they have a bad reputation for failing like this. When I rode the Transam route 2 years ago, the Newton Bike Shop (Newton, KS) had a collection of nearly 100 of these tires that they had removed from the wheels of touring cyclists. I thought that surely Schwalbe would have fixed this issue by now, but not so. Doc’s tires had been purchased from a major online bicycle tire retailer, and they sell in such a high volume that the tires must have been new stock; so apparently Schwalbe has not fixed this issue. YMMV of course, but I do not recommend anyone purchase these tires. Instead, I have been using the tires recommended by the Newton Bike Shop as a replacement for the Schwalbe; the Panaracer Tourguard Plus. No problems with these tires, so far.
We met a couple aged 91-92 years at the hotel. They have been living in the Holiday Inn Express for 2 years now, and use walkers to get around; and they do get around a lot, including getting out on the roadway shoulder and walking with their walkers to the nearby McDonalds. Bill and Maryanne Glattiolas are a wonderful example of aging happily. Bill was an aircraft mechanic on an aircraft carrier in WWII; he was stationed at Johnston Island and then got moved to help support the Berlin airlift. And they’re both still sharp as tacks; I know people half their age who aren’t as “mentally capable” as these two. It’s truly amazing what you can discover if you just talk to some of the folks around you; most of us remain in our own little shells and are afraid to venture out of our comfort zone and talk with someone who is different (older, different color, different ethnicity, etc.) than us.
Disjointed Thoughts Commence Now;
I’ve been cycling for a while now; not continuously throughout my life, but as much as circumstances/children/work/etc. would allow. I've done it for recreation, for commuting to work, and for touring. I’m hooked on it as being the best way to travel and not only see the country, but to actually experience it.
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Wouldn’t it be great if there was a huge increase in bicycle tourism in the U.S.? Folks would do less environmental damage on vacation and they would have a deeper and richer experience. The benefits are too numerous for me to discuss here without boring you, but the categories include better health, cleaner environment, less dependence on fossil fuel, lower health insurance costs; and many more. For now I’ll just have to dream about it; government action and leadership is needed to move us in that direction, and it’s not going to happen under the present administration. But I’m a believer, and it may eventually happen; so that gives me something to dream about. Later, you all...
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