THE FINAL DECISION to be made regarding my newest mount is what his name will be.  All his stablemates' names reflect some aspect of their character or being.  He should have the same.

You're already acquainted with Scout and Odysseus so I don't need to rehash those.

In addition I have Spike, Mad Max, Elsie, Abner, and Quicksilver.  In the past there were Zeus and Potlatch too, along with The Princess.

So, what about the new guy?

"Son of Scout" would be an homage to a much-loved and illustrious forebear but would rob him of his individuality. 

"Trooper"?  Possibly.  It has a certain connotation of steady reliability coupled with a game attitude and willingness to tackle any challenge.  There are numerous law enforcement horses that share the name.

"Cochise"?  That's John Wayne's horse in El Dorado; he was a steady, reliable, sturdy, devoted mount for whom Wayne's character had clear affection. 

"Cincinnati" was U. S. Grant's favorite horse.  I love the description of Grant, sitting his horse at the side of the road and encouraging a column of troops marching past: "... a dusty man on a dusty horse, saying 'Push right along men, push right along.'"  How fitting for a touring bike. 

R.E. Lee famously rode "Traveler", a tall gray horse.  But I'm not a Confederate sympathizer so that's probably out, despite it being so apropos in other respects.

Similarly I will avoid "Sam", the name of one of Sherman's favorite mounts, because of Sherman's post-war record in regard to native peoples. 

And "Rienzi", mount of U.S. cavalry general Phil Sheridan, is far too splashy.  Besides, Sheridan was even worse than Sherman with regard to post-war record.  So that's out on several counts. 

Perhaps "Clyde", short for "Clydesdale" but not in reference to any historical person?

Departing from equine themes, "White Bird" or "Chief Joseph" (or perhaps simply "Chief" or "Joe") as a tip of the bike helmet toward the famous Nez Perce chiefs might be something I'd consider.  They were horse people, after all.

I've long admired Ivan "Pudge" Rodriguez, the Hall of Fame baseball player.  As he shares a surname with the bike's label, I could do worse than call the bike "Pudge".

Maybe "Mack", as in the trucks?  Rugged and dependable, nothing fancy or delicate about them.  Could be a winner.

Other names may suggest themselves in the coming months, as my thinking changes to new areas.  

"Lewis", "Clark ", "La Salle", "Desoto", and "Du Sable", among others, are names of noted explorers.  Perhaps there's fruit in that direction, but I'll avoid Cortez, Pizarro, Columbus, Drake, Magellan, and da Gama; they all share a certain stigma with regard to their legacies in relation to native populations they encountered.

Scott, Amundsen, Peary, Byrd, and of course Shackleton were explorers too, but of the polar regions where I have no intention of ever being and certainly not by bicycle.   So they're all out of contention. 

Columbia, Eagle, Discovery, Challenger... lots of good spacecraft names to choose from if I want to go that route.  I particularly like Voyager. 

I'm open to suggestions, too.  There's no rush.