| Author | Message | ||
     L_je |
An Adventure without My Uly? or How I Wrecked My Buell Messenger Bag or When Do You Just Leave the Bikes at Home? On June 27th, I informed my boss that I would be leaving the company [1][2]. On June 30th, I left on a long overdue 3 week vacation [3]. The Plan: 1) My wife was attending a 2 week math conference outside of Salt Lake City, during which time, my daughter and I would tool around the American West. Week #3 would be spent as a family, again tooling around the American West. 2) We would be taking our truck 3) We would be taking our dogs 4) We would be trailering our bikes 5) Our dogs would be boarded on an as-needed basis while using the bikes At the very last minute, my wife and I jointly decided to leave the Duc and Uly at home.Was this the right decision? [this is really not meant to be a rhetorical question] We left suburban Atlanta at 0500 EDT on Saturday, and arrived in suburban SLC at 1245 MDT on Sunday. After getting my wife registered for the conference, my daughter and I headed back to Wyoming where we were to do some hiking... - my daughter (8 yrs old), our two dogs, and I set out from Big Sandy into the Bridger Wilderness on what was to be an 8 day / 30+ mile backcountry hike [5] up to - Big Sandy Lake - The Cirque of the Towers - Deep Lake - Temple Lake - and then back to the truck - my pack was probably 70#, with food for 10 days - each dog started out with 9# of their own food in each of their backpacks - my daughter's pack contained her clothes and a CammelBack, and proably weighed in at less than 5# Without complaint or fear: - my daughter logged about 29.5 miles of backcountry hiking. (That last 1/2 mile was pretty rough on all of us.) - she weathered several thunderstorms - she put up with my cooking - she got eaten alive by mosquitos, even with DEET - she didn't flinch when a mule deer objected to us setting up a tripod in his meadow one night So, could we have done such a hike if we had, as originally planned, left the truck and boarded the dogs in SLC and riden the Uly into Big Sandy? I'm thinking no. Oh, yeah, did I mention the part about leaving my job? Spending nearly two weeks away from phone/internet service while you are awaiting the final decision on a job interview isn't much fun. When we came down from the mountains, and finally found internet access in Lander, WY, I saw InBox(0). Shortly thereafter, my daughter pointed out that the McDonalds in Lander was hiring at $8/hr. - feeling pretty bummed out, I checked in at BadWeb, where I noticed the new 1125R, at which point, I suddenly felt like a defrosted caveman. - funny, but the whole 1125R thing was enough to lift my spirits, and make me forget about my job situation, even if only for a couple of minutes - the very next day, I did get a phone call, and a job offer...a big, big relief [4]. During my wife's two weeks in Park City [not really SLC, but close enough] at the math conference, she did miss not having her Duc; at least she would have had some means of transportation other than bus. My daughter, our dogs, and I then returned to Park Cit, UT, to free my wife from the stupid conference, and continue on with Part II of our vacation: - Grand Teton - Yellowstone - and Rocky Mountain National Park - from RMNP, we spent about a day and a half driving back to Atlanta. In Yellowstone, while taking some photos of Bison, I picked up my Buell Messenger Bag (loaded with camera gear) only to have the stitching blow out of the grab handle. No camera gear was damaged, and the bag was still mostly functional, but I'm pretty bummed about wrecking what was a mighty fine camera bag. I need a new Messenger Bag. This is intended to generate some discussion: When do you leave the bikes at home? -I have co-workers who always vacation on their bikes; consequently, their idea of "seeing something" is to just ride by it. -Keep in mind, that we only spent 3 days (total) driving from Atlanta to Salt Lake City, and back. Seriously, how long would it have taken to ride out there, and back? [this question is aimed at those who scoff at the idea of trailering a bike; sorry, but for two people, trailering is the fastest/cheapest way to get two bikes across the country] -driving in the truck, I was actually able to talk to my daughter, point things out, and explain them...it's pretty tough to do that on a bike. Sure, it would have been nice to have our bikes out there, but I just don't know if we would have even had time to really ride them. As it turns out, three weeks goes by in a flash. ______________________________ [1] My wife got a teaching job in Western Virginia [1a], and even though she'd still be making less money than me, we decided the intangibles were enough to justify the move. [1a] Western Virginia is not to be confused with West Virginia, nor Northern Virginia [2] I really enjoy my current job, and hope can only hope future jobs will be as rewarding. [3] I will try to figure out how to post some pictures, if requested. God knows I carried around enough camera equipment. [4] my new commute will be from Lexington to Lynchburg along US 501, or along part of the Blue Ridge Parkway (weather permitting) [5] taking my daughter on the backcountry hike seemed less cruel than leaving her at the math conference | ||
| Bobsims |
L_je, Great story, very thought-provoking, thanks for sharing. Very inspirational for those many of us also balancing work, family, and our own adventures. Bob | ||
| Bertotti |
I always put family first. I would invest in a wireless system if the whole family is on bikes to keep your communications open. I would make it family decision, as it sounds like you did, then enjoy the trip. Your young one won't be that age forever so if giving up a ride means more quality time with your daughter then I think you made the right choice. Some of my thoughts on this may be age related. I'm 41 and only just got my first son less then two years ago. I know guys and gals in their teens and twenties that in your case would have pawned the child off on friends and family so they could have fun without so much responsibility. I also know people my age with grand kids now and the recurring regret is not spending more time with their kids as they grew up. My advice to you young parents now is, enjoy your kids now, spend as much quality time with them as possible, you will not have another chance! There is nothing more important, including money. | ||
| Kc69xlch |
welcome to western virginia. you will enjoy the people and the riding. bring some cold weather gear so you can extend your riding season. blue ridge parkway is a fantastic ride to work!!!! |
