Subject: WanderNorth 6 - Smithers, British Columbia
Date: Thu, 07 Jun 2001 16:55:47 -0700
Gas in (Mr.) Burns Lake. Motel in Smithers.
DOH! I've fallen into a Simpsons episode! Oh, Marrrrrrge!
As I folded the map to pin it on my handlebars this morning, I couldn't get the words of an old Johnny Horton song out of my head: North to Alaska ... go north the rush is on ... waaaay up North. (And if you remember, it starts with "Big Sam left Seattle ...".) Ok, now for the test. What was on the flip side of the 45 (record, not Colt :) ?
Every trip has its tweener. My tweener hit me today.
A tweener is the day between starting out in high hopes and getting there
full of experiences, when you question yourself or your motives. If it
is a challenge trip, you might ask yourself was I crazy to try this? If
it is a whimsy trip, you might ask yourself why I am doing this? If it
is a trip without a clear destination you might ask yourself how will I
know when to turn around? Tweeners are like attending a church service
if you don't really have the faith. Even something as enjoyable as a ride
on a sunny day can be interminable on a tweener. Nothing happens of interest.
Life just goes on, and nothing seems to change. There is no latitude in
the attitude. You just have to press on.
BC97 and BC16 continue forever on the open plateau.
There are just enough curves and scenery to make the ride not boring, but
not enough to make it interesting. It is just a tweener. I wonder if Ron
was thinking any of this when he pushed himself through all of BC in less
than one day to finish his ride to Hyder? I've now been out for a little
over 2200 miles, but it is not the distance that matters. It is more that
I wonder how far is too far for too little? Perhaps it is best not to judge
results with effort.
100 miles per hour.
There was a recent article in a magazine where the
author mentioned how he noticed over the years he has spent more and more
time getting to a rally and less and less time at the rally. He now thinks
nothing of riding for two days, staying overnight, and leaving in the morning
to ride two days home. That got me to thinking about "100 miles per hour".
Rebecca and I rode 4,300 miles round trip to Branson in April to spend
(I counted them afterward) 43 hours with the IBMWR group. We rode "100
miles per hour" in result, not in effort. Is this the new "P/E" ratio by
which to measure a ride? Works for me. About 2400 miles to Hyder ... a
little more than 24 hours there. A minimum of 100 mph (results) seems to
fit.
But what about the record holders, how do they look
at it? How far is too far for too little?
Randumb observation:
On the approach to Vanderhoof, BC, there are several
signs for local businesses. Someone didn't pay attention to what was on
the next sign when they put theirs up: "A.V. Continuous Gutters" was right
beside "Downtown Slaughterhouse".
376 miles
Williams Lake BC97 BC16 Smithers
_________________________
Sam Lepore, San Francisco