Mid-Life Rider

Here’s the lead on a great read in the Manchester Guardian . . .

Long way down … Mike Carter takes in the spectacular views of the Valley of the Moon in Chile from a precarious vantage point. Photograph: Julia Sanders

I watched them ride along the corniche, headlights blazing through the swirling dust and the [...]

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Home, 288.8 miles
I opened my eyes at 5:45 this morning in a Holiday Inn Express, not feeling any smarter but happy to be on the last stretch to home. I pulled on my long underwear, loaded up, and left. Within a few miles I was off to the side of the road adding my electric [...]

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Eugene, OR 781 Miles
For the past three hours, riding the FJR had been a test of my endurance. I mounted up at 7:00 this morning in Bishop, CA. Twelve hours later, the only good thing I could think about my aching knees is that it made me not think as much about my aching back. [...]

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Bishop, CA 300 miles
“Why do people live here?”
I find myself asking that question often on this trip. In Ely, it felt like a legitimate question in the sense that I was really curious. It’s a cute town in a rugged but beautiful corner of the American West. I really wanted to know.
Pounding up Hwy 15 [...]

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Temecula, CA 225 miles

Finally, after days or pointing the FJR towards the horizon and hanging on, it was time to dance. I hooked my right knee on the tank and pivoted my body off the bike. The first corner in what seemed like forever hooked sharply up and to the left. I released the outside [...]

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Yuma, Arizona, 282 Miles
I’ve spent the past four days meditating and rejuvenating at a wonderful, hidden sanctuary near Tubac, Arizona. A story for another time and place, but a small piece bears retelling here.
After this morning’s meditation, one of my fellow retreaters came up to me and said . . .
“I went outside the lodge [...]

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Tubac, Arizona 319 miles
Every day on a journey like this has its own story. What’s important is that you stay open to it because it’s often not the story you had in mind.
Much of the attraction of riding is the opportunity to be alone in your helmet for long stretches of time. When the road [...]

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Flagstaff Arizona: 485 Miles
It wasn’t until mid afternoon that I finally got it. The big storm system that had been chasing me since I left Seattle was keeping temperatures down. Rather than grumbling about the cold and off and on again drizzle, I should be happy. This flash of insight occurred to me when I [...]

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Ely Nevada: 505 miles
“Take what the road gives you.” My riding pal Ron and I talk about that when we do our long rides. It’s something he learned from spending years riding rivers (change the word “road” to “river” and it makes sense).
Day 2 of my long ride down and it’s raining. Been raining for [...]

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Lakeview, Oregon: 503 miles
I’ve been here before. These roads. Seen these trees. Lakeview. Crummy roadside motel. Eating alone. But it’s all fresh and different each time I ride by and through. Even the Interstate 8 , my home away from home tonight, has a kind of seedy charm that would be totally lost on me [...]

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