I am going to miss my house. I've spent over half my life here; raised my children here. Sitting on the porch, looking out over the fields at the mountains, watching the wildlife, is the stuff of vacation dreams. Time to let go and move on. |
None the less, it was my decision not to overextend myself ... and it was a good decision. In the time they were away, a binding offer was worked out for my house. The contracts are presently with the attorneys. Maybe I'll ride to Nova Scotia late in August after the closing.
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It is with a great deal of disappointment and much soul searching that I formally withdrew from the Newfoundland ride with MissRider Madeline and GoGoGear's Arlene today. I've held onto hope and proceeded with the intent of making the ride through all the curves Creator has thrown my way since last December. What it comes down to, is having to make the best decision for me at this time! Taughannock Falls What really brought it home to me was my ride this past weekend to Wolf's Run for the Hoka Hey start and to visit a friend in Rochester. I had to look at why I was going, and could I accomplish that in these circumstances. The answer is "not now". My time frames are too stringent and finances too tight to not fret the whole way. It would be a disservice to myself AND to my companions, disrupting the entire trip. After starting antibiotics for strept on Wednesday, I pushed myself last weekend, altering my plans to camp out Friday and Saturday night by going directly to my friend's in Rochester and making Wolf's Run a day trip. That cut out the PA part of my anticipated loop. Listening to the weather report on Sunday, I knew Monday would be the day to ride! Instead, I held out the extra day in anticipation of meeting Madeline in Canada to come home through Montreal and Vermont. Still, our time frames did not coincide. Rather than a meandering journey through parts unknown, taking the time to explore enticing little diversions, such as a sign indicating "falls overlook, next right" or "Seneca Castle - 2 miles" (I never did find the castle!), Tuesday's ride home was a "push" in hope of staying between storms! Making route decisions based upon what area of the sky seemed brightest paid off. One friend along the route I had wanted to take reported "so much hail it looked like it was snowing" about the time I would have been in that area! All in all, only about 20 of 280 miles were spent riding in the rain. Much more than that was spent coming to terms with why I had not ridden the day before. I worry more about disappointing others than being true to my needs and desires. The ride to Newfoundland is, and always has been, Madeline's ride. It is a grand adventure, and it entices me. Passing up this trip is a major disappointment, but less so than going bare bones. It is the same as the difference between Friday's ride to Rochester, and Tuesday's ride home. |
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I've been riding now for over 40 years, beginning in the dirt on a Honda SL-70 when I was 12. I always leaned more toward trials riding than racing, but also loved riding the tracks (flat track and motocross) with the guys I came up with when they'd practice (on a Honda Elsinore 125). Our motto then was "If you don't go down you're not riding hard enough!" ... not finding your limits. Archives
February 2018
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