Rubbed wrong but a drive corrects me.

Date: 12.13.11 AND 12.14.11
Location: Sedona, AZ
Ride Day (13th) Drive Day (14th)
Pictures: here
Video: here

I think the lesson to be learned from this day is that I need to add to my list of requirements for my winter home. The addition is "somewhere where other people do not go to retire."

I apologize in advance, because this post will offend some people, although that is not really a concern of mine obviously, since previous posts have done the same. But I need to say this out in public, and I'm tired of whispering it amongst like-minded friends.

Today, Sedona picked a fight with me. It was 40 degrees, windy, and rainy. I was going to ride no matter what, but I could have done without the rain. The roads sucked. The scenery was, eh. The red rocks are out of this world, but thats only about the last three miles of the ride.

I got a flat tire. I got sick halfway through as well since my stomach has not been whole for two days now. I consider two days of upset stomach to be pretty much a major score when on the road for this long and eating out 100% of the time.

But the uppercut that laid me out, and I have had enough of it, was the drivers, specifically the ones long in the tooth.

And I know there is not an nice, easy, digestible solution to this. But that's getting way ahead of myself, because the problem itself is largely being ignored. The rate of mortality for drivers between 75-84 is greater or equal to teenage drivers. After 85, that rate quadruples. And no, I am not going to provide the source of this, I'm not a goddamn journalist.

I know what I see. I've been riding a bike on public roads since I was 13. I'm 39. I have a good amount of experience on this subject.

Seconds after I get home, I lose my shit. And I get it on video, and I'm keeping that one in my pocket. And I feel much better.

I have a right to be angry. I like my life the way it is, which is with all my appendages still attached.

But when I left Sedona, and I mean that exact moment, the sun came out for the first time. And I had a killer drive. Met a cyclist from Belgium and also a bobcat. Valentino at Sirius radio finally mentioned me and my trip on air, and I had a great day.