I had never ridden a century before. My longest ride up until January 8 was a metric century (62 miles), last March. I did not know whether I was in the right shape or how my body would react to the hours. Sometime in the last year, I flipped through Bicycling‘s issue on mastering “the hundo.” I give anyone permission to slap me if I ever use the phrase “hundo” unironically. I did not know how long it would take, but I estimated eight hours. I wanted to leave from and end at home, so I designed a route that […]
Springwater Corridor, Late-Stage Capitalism
At the Johnson Creek bridge, I was approached by an agitated man. He was not threatening, but he was clearly upset. Freshly showered, recently shaved, well-dressed for the cold not for the wet. I slowed to see what he needed, and after a few seconds it was clear that he is working with some cognitive impairments. He was upset about a bike (he was riding a bike). Another bike was supposed to be at one end of the bridge, but was apparently at the other end of the bridge. He showed me, but there was no bike at either end […]