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Number Two in an occasional series on the Philosophy of Cyclo Touring.
In 1997 Joan and I were riding down the Pacific Coast
and stopped in Santa Barbara doing our laundry when an older fellow, I assume,
and a fellow tourer approached and we started to talk about riding the Coast.
He had written a book on the subject and was knowledgeable.
I ventured that there were three dimensions to Cyclo
touring: time, distance, and elevation gain. He quickly added the wind and
we also added the sun.
Time is indefinite but moves forward at a measurable
rate and distance is immutable. The wind is either for or against you and
you hope that it averages out overall. The sun is a major factor for us
now here in the Southwest, but some days it may be overcast and it does not slow
you down.
That brings us to the Fifth Dimension, elevation gain.
That is where we are stuck right now in eastern AZ and southwest NM. Rides
of 40 or 50 miles that are a stroll in the park in Michigan take twice as long
here with all the climbing. We have to adjust and set our goals
accordingly.
Rod Serling should have been a cyclo tourist.
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