Today’s Topic – Travelers

I was commuting home last night when what did I happen upon? A couple on bikes! Not just any couple. No, these were two (2) older, retired sorts roughly half (1/2) way through their journey from Tacoma, WA to Boston, MA.

They were riding loaded. She on a Rodriguez and he on a Surly Long Haul Trucker. They had panniers fore and aft plus stuff strapped on top of the racks on the back. When I found them they were stopped looking at their map.

Once we’d greeted each other and talked a bit I asked them where they were headed in town. I knew right where this was and offered to help them navigate the streets of Sioux Falls. They were going to ride Minnesota Avenue, and for those in the know, that’s not the most bike friendly of streets.

As we rode we chatted. They told me of leaving Rapid City in search of Wall, Wall Drug, and free ice water. They found some route on the internets that had them on a highway that parallels I-90. The highway turned to gravel, then to a cow pasture, and then to “not a trail.” They hoisted their bags and bikes over, under, and through a barbed wire fence and rode the last bit to Wall on I-90.

They had other stories as well. Their route was going to have them meet up and ride RAGBRAI and hit the Baseball Hall of Fame in Cooperstown. She’d been retired for four (4) years and he, just.

They are a nice old couple with not necessarily no particular place to go, just no hard schedule to keep. I keep playing “Powerball” in hopes I’d be doing just this – sooner rather than later.


Ride On.