Friendship

"Go oft to the house of thy friend,

for weeds choke the unused path."

Ralph Waldo Emerson

There used to be a web page called "The Big Dogs."  Distance cyclists logged their miles there.  They could write an entry describing the ride or just put the miles.  The main goal, at least as I, a late comer to the site, understood it was to complete a minimum of one outside century per month, no matter where you lived.  The site was extremely motivating at times.  I once read an entry by a Canadian cyclist who had to stop throughout the century to change clothing or unfreeze her bike, I can't remember which, and who could only ride in short circles around her house due to the cold temperatures, but she finished.  Others would log so many centuries that I wondered if it was indeed possible.

 I suppose the site also gave me my first introduction to the idea that people could ride so many miles and that  perhaps I could also ride these miles.  I went a long period of time, even after the site was shut down, riding a century each month until I was in a series of car accidents that ended my streak (hit by a sleeping driver who came into my lane and only about a month later rear ended by a teenager while pulling into my drive and cracking a telephone pole in two).

Unfortunately, the site is no longer in existence, but I have maintained a few friendships with cyclists that I would not otherwise have met had it not been for the site and for Hell Week.  Thus it continues to enrich my life.  Last year I traveled to Illinois and rode with some Big Dog members that I had never before met face to face as well as two I had.  But this year, it was only Steve Royse, Greg Zaborac, and I that got together for a few days of riding. 

Unlike our days at Hell Week when we were younger, we rode shorter mileage:  somewhere between 65 to 70 miles daily, but we had a blast, or at least I did.  Our pace was not what it once was, but nobody seemed to care. We rode from my house two days traveling some of my favorite roads and  we rode from around Steve's house one day.  Steve's wife fixed a wonderful lunch mid-ride and was a gracious hostess. 

Later we gathered with other riders that Greg knew and had ridden with before at Hell Week or on Tokyo for an excellent dinner sitting outside next to the Ohio River.  Mostly, we just enjoyed each other's company because we all still love to ride our bicycles and this thread continues to bind us enough that we each make some effort to retain and maintain that friendship.  Without that effort, I feel certain that the "weeds would choke the unused path."  And that would surely be a shame.

It is good to have friends, and even better to have friends that enjoy the same thing you do:  in this case riding bicycles. Until next year, my friends, ride safely.  Thanks for another memory to hold dear.  And I look forward to next  year and our hopes that a few more will join us on our rides wherever we decide to meet.