Sports Slime

I road to Hospers yesterday.  When I got there I visited the park’s restroom and then had my first go at a sports gel packet.  It was thick.  It seemed more like slime than gel; but I guess that wouldn’t market very well.  How’s this for an ad slogan:  “Try our new and improved Sports Slime!”  The flavoring reminded me of kid’s medicines.  The packet said to drink water with it.  I did.  That helped a little.  After two swallows I wasn’t sure if I would finish the packet.  It’s supposed to fuel my ride with the right ratio of carbs, protein, sodium and caffeine, so I finished it.  And besides, I paid for it, I better use it!  I was thankful for a granola bar which  further washed away the taste of the gel.  Somehow I got the gel on my hands and it created a seriously sticky mess that I didn't want on my bike handles.  I’m not sure if this is the answer to my “fuel” needs.

After leaving Hospers, I added a few extra miles to my intended route for the day.  I felt like I could ride forever with the wind at my back.  (Or was it the slime's effect?)  Unfortunately, it was in those extra miles where my little fall happened.  It was nothing serious—I was contemplating whether to turn around at the next intersection, reading my bike computer and calculating how far it would be if I kept going or if I turned around, and I drifted too close to the edge of the road.  I hit the thick layer of gravel recently spread beside the edge of the pavement.  I wasn’t going very fast to begin with and the gravel slowed me down before I tipped.  No harm was done to the bike.  There was a little scratch on my knee.   This was my first fall, other than that one time when I didn’t get unclipped in time and lost my balance when starting from a stand-still on an incline with my newly developing recumbent riding skills.  Oh, and I guess there was one other time when I was a kid and I fell going down the ditch while pretending to be blind while riding my bike.  (I saw a video with Ken Medema riding a bike, so I thought I would give it a try, too!)

Tonight, Rudy and I talked about items we have to buy before we leave on Sea to Sea in four weeks.  We need three sizes of batteries—D for the air pump and tiny fan for our tent, AA for the front lights on our bikes and AAA for the red lights on the back of our bikes and our headlamps.  We need spare bike tires—Should we get the puncture resistant ones?  Oh, and we need a spare chain for each bike.  Glasses.  I really should buy a pair of glasses but I hate to spend money on something I’ll wear only a few minutes at the beginning of each day.  I haven’t had a working pair of glasses for many, many years.  Putting my contacts in and taking them out has been my first and last daily routine for 36 years.  I can easily walk the five steps from my bed to the bathroom without them, but not the (50?  100?  200?) unfamiliar steps from our tent to the facilities in the pre-dawn light. 

I am spoiled to have a bathroom five steps from my bed.  For some people, even having a bed is a luxury.  Keep opening my eyes, Lord. 

We’re allowed to bring 60 pounds of gear, spare parts, clothing, etc.  I’ve started weighing things.  Did you know that a bath towel weighs about two pounds?  (More, I’m sure, if it doesn't get completely dry before packing it up in the morning.)   A camp chair, 4.4 pounds.  Our tent, sleeping bags, air mattresses and a few other things weighed in at 40 pounds.

We’re enjoying the preparations, but the time is counting down quickly.  Thanks for coming along!

Noticing the Geese

The road on which I often bike takes me past a farm with geese roaming freely on the yard.  They are big, beautiful, white birds with a stately air about them.  I have never seen the geese close to the road; certainly, not on the road.  But today, one of them must have wondered onto the pavement.  And there it lay.  A pile of . . . well . . . I won’t go into the details.  You’ve seen road-kill.  At first I thought it was a chicken, but it was too big for that.  I felt a twinge of sadness as I continued my ride.

A single row of trees caught my attention.  Hah!  A hint of green!  Something inside me was comforted  at this tangible promise of spring, at last.  It's been a long time coming this year.  I thought of new life juxtaposed with the new death I had seen on the road earlier.   

Since my route today is an out-and-back route, I returned thirty minutes later to the farmyard I mentioned earlier.  The eight or ten remaining geese slowly made their way out from the yard, their regal beaks pointing in the direction of the heap of feathers on the road.  They walked slowly.  The somber situation seemed to settle in as they saw for themselves what had happened.  One by one they came to a stop before reaching the pavement.  Like sentries arriving after the battle, each one chose its own distance of reverence.   They seemed to ponder in disbelief, “What are we going to do now?” 

And then it was behind me. 

The scene had time to unfold when riding by at the speed of a bike.  Had I been in my car, I may not have noticed any of it, other than the tangled mound in the middle of the lane (around which I would have carefully maneuvered my car in order to straddle the mess).  The mournful parade of the remaining geese would have gone unnoticed. 

Unnoticed.  So much passes by unnoticed.  More accurately, we pass by the unnoticed.  I’m thinking of the people living in cardboard huts under a bridge on the documentary by Prairie Grass Productions, The Fourth World:  One Billion People at the Bottom of the Pile.  The statistics are numbing but I do not remember the details.  I need to watch this film again.  The slums it portrays show a sobering reality we’d like to ignore.

Sea to Sea is all about getting people to notice poverty and inviting them to do something about it.  If you’re reading this and you haven’t given anything lately to help fight poverty, consider making a donation to Sea to Sea.  If you want your gift to be added to the donations under my name, just find me on the list of riders.  We’re partnering with well-established organizations fighting the cycle of poverty.  Browse the website to find out more; or use your creativity and find some other way to fight the cycle of poverty.