Twenty-five Years Ago

03-02-2005, 02:49 PM

Twenty-five years ago this spring, I had an odd experience on a bike
ride. My brother and I were doing a ninety-miler, and we were southbound
on the west side of Utah Lake. For those who don't know it, that road
isn't exactly the middle of nowhere, but you can see it from there. As we
rode south, along came a cross-country cyclist heading north. (And no,
Brown Cloud, he didn't have a car accompanying him.) We stopped and
chatted for a few minutes. We asked him where he was going. He answered
that he was headed from Houston to Seattle.
Which is where the story becomes odd. I had the dubious honor of
informing this guy that he was either going to have to alter his route
considerably, or he wasn't going to make it to his destination. (Shall I
turn this post into a trivia quiz and make y'all guess why? Sure, why
not.)
I'm just wondering if by some wild chance that gentleman or someone who
knows him reads this NG. How did the trip turn out, my friend?

Bill

__o | Roads aren't for cars. They're for people.
_`\(,_ |
(_)/ (_) |

03-03-2005, 09:04 AM

Well, I don't know. Could it be that there's no other way to Seattle
except by interstates?
[Only registered and activated users can see links. ] wrote:
> Twenty-five years ago this spring, I had an odd experience on a bike
> ride. My brother and I were doing a ninety-miler, and we were
southbound
> on the west side of Utah Lake. For those who don't know it, that
road
> isn't exactly the middle of nowhere, but you can see it from there.
As we
> rode south, along came a cross-country cyclist heading north. (And
no,
> Brown Cloud, he didn't have a car accompanying him.) We stopped and
> chatted for a few minutes. We asked him where he was going. He
answered
> that he was headed from Houston to Seattle.
> Which is where the story becomes odd. I had the dubious honor of
> informing this guy that he was either going to have to alter his
route
> considerably, or he wasn't going to make it to his destination.
(Shall I
> turn this post into a trivia quiz and make y'all guess why? Sure,
why
> not.)
> I'm just wondering if by some wild chance that gentleman or
someone who
> knows him reads this NG. How did the trip turn out, my friend?
>
> Bill
>
>
> __o | Roads aren't for cars. They're for people.
> _`\(,_ |
> (_)/ (_) |

03-03-2005, 09:04 AM

Well, I don't know. Could it be that there's no other way to Seattle
except by interstates?
[Only registered and activated users can see links. ] wrote:
> Twenty-five years ago this spring, I had an odd experience on a bike
> ride. My brother and I were doing a ninety-miler, and we were
southbound
> on the west side of Utah Lake. For those who don't know it, that
road
> isn't exactly the middle of nowhere, but you can see it from there.
As we
> rode south, along came a cross-country cyclist heading north. (And
no,
> Brown Cloud, he didn't have a car accompanying him.) We stopped and
> chatted for a few minutes. We asked him where he was going. He
answered
> that he was headed from Houston to Seattle.
> Which is where the story becomes odd. I had the dubious honor of
> informing this guy that he was either going to have to alter his
route
> considerably, or he wasn't going to make it to his destination.
(Shall I
> turn this post into a trivia quiz and make y'all guess why? Sure,
why
> not.)
> I'm just wondering if by some wild chance that gentleman or
someone who
> knows him reads this NG. How did the trip turn out, my friend?
>
> Bill
>
>
> __o | Roads aren't for cars. They're for people.
> _`\(,_ |
> (_)/ (_) |

03-06-2005, 07:32 AM

dccyclist <[Only registered and activated users can see links. ]> wrote:
> Well, I don't know. Could it be that there's no other way to Seattle
> except by interstates?

Nope. The news I gave the skeptical rider was that if he stuck to his
intended route, he was going to have problems riding through the six
inches of volcanic ash then covering most of southeastern Washington.
St. Helens had erupted just a few days before, yasee, and he hadn't
heard. I still wonder if he believed my seeming whopper, and still wonder
if he changed his route to go west of the mountain, or if he gave up and
went back to Texas.

Bill

-----------------------------------------------
| Friends don't let friends shop at Wal-Mart. |
-----------------------------------------------

03-06-2005, 07:32 AM

dccyclist <[Only registered and activated users can see links. ]> wrote:
> Well, I don't know. Could it be that there's no other way to Seattle
> except by interstates?

Nope. The news I gave the skeptical rider was that if he stuck to his
intended route, he was going to have problems riding through the six
inches of volcanic ash then covering most of southeastern Washington.
St. Helens had erupted just a few days before, yasee, and he hadn't
heard. I still wonder if he believed my seeming whopper, and still wonder
if he changed his route to go west of the mountain, or if he gave up and
went back to Texas.

Bill

-----------------------------------------------
| Friends don't let friends shop at Wal-Mart. |
-----------------------------------------------