Ride Predictions [From 42-500]

"It is of little use denying the difficulties and inconveniences of staying up on two wheels."

from BA 42-500

What we know is that it may never get any easier than this. What we don’t know is what’s coming. We know what materials we have to work with, spread out as they are before us, but there is an infinity of goods and bads and ups and downs and acute and obtuse angles for how those pieces fit together.

It is of little use if in the long run we deny the difficulties and inconveniences of staying up on two wheels. Locking up correctly takes a lot of time. Piling things high in one’s basket, or stuffing them in backpacks, or filing them in panniers, taxes one’s body, one’s mind, and one’s morale. Where did I put my helmet? How warm is it going to be today? Is it really going to sleet? If I meet up with those folks in that part of town at that time of night, how far does that mean I’ll have to ride in the dark cold hours of tomorrow when things wrap up?

Our prediction: if we keep reading, keep riding, keep studying, keep preparing, we can surely then keep going. The world is no safe haven and it will take effort to set right all that has gone wrong, and this is a daunting task to consider undertaking. Make no mistake, wars take a toll on our collective self, and we are definitely still at war with ourselves and have many, many obstacles to overcome—but we still have time to get to work and may yet come out of these conflicts leaner and stronger and smarter and wiser.

And so in looking forward, we also pause to look behind. What we find there makes us want to apologize for really making neither an almanac nor a periodical about boneshakers. For what it’s worth, we’re sorry. What have we made instead? We’re not entirely sure, but hopefully you’ve found something somewhere at some point to keep you moving in the best direction, especially because we know how hard it is to get rolling up that path in the first place.