I’ve been living in a small college town in southern Ontario for almost a decade. It has everything I need, and then some. I sold the bagger, knowing I was content and happily ensconced. From a successful career in aviation, and another lifetime of riding, I’ve garnered enough material to keep me happily clacking away on that typewriter thing forever and a day. Anonymous fiction, of course.
Because reasons.
My aviation life was spent in the deserts of Africa. I have flown in the Canadian bush as a fire pilot. I’ve been a mountain and an arctic pilot. I managed to stay away from the jungle. Because more reasons.
As a biker, I was an Independent. I traveled highway and byway and the old blue highways from Canada to Mexico and places in between. I loved every precious minute of it all, even when, well, that’s for me to know and others to read about.
As to my writing, on average, I get around 12,000 downloads a year, every year. My biggest kick was seeing 60 down in Kazakhstan last year. Normally, it’s only ten or so in that bleak wilderness. I do POD sales as well, courtesy of Ingram Spark and Amazon.
Switching gears, my last bicycle was a red and white CCM 3-speed from Simpsons-Sears. I think I might have been 12, or thereabouts.
I remember my old man putting that thing together, not fast enough for my liking. Finally, off I went. The bike wasn’t anything too fancy – as best I can recall. Hitting the binders required one to stand on the aft pedal and push down hard.
So what’s next, I asked myself, because with me, there is always a next.
Answered, I replied, to no one in particular. I like it that way.
The bagger has been replaced!
COSTCO came up with a sweet deal on a CC50 e-bike. No surprise that I couldn’t resist or refuse. Of course, I needed a helmet. Chain lube. A pump. A sizeable hard bag to sit on top of that rack. Some sweet panniers, too. And an alarm. I dug out my leather gloves and a couple of old Slippy Brim helmet liners. Some faded bandanas.
That CCM bicycle was my first taste of freedom. As I got older, I tasted more, and more. And now, I have come full circle. I am still tasting, though. I will never give that up.
The mental picture I conjured up of you on an e-bike instead of the bagger brought a huge smile to my face. I hope you’re doing well, my friend. I’m retired, living the good life in a very small town in Washington with my wonderful husband, our giant horse/dog, planting a garden and enjoying the wonderful home-grown produce. Los Angeles is a faint memory now and it will remain that way.
I hope you’re well and enjoying that e-bike.
— Caryn — **verdeii**
Well hello, stranger! I see you, too, have won the battle. Good for you. Yup, the old bagger was sold to a good home. It’s still out there, still on the road, still bringing adventure, wherever it roams. My bike trips are shorter now, but still just as much fun. Isn’t that what life for some of us is all about? I’m glad to hear you have a dog. I always wanted a black Labrador in my life, but with all the roaming I did it was an impossibility. I’ll have one in another life.
Great to hear from you!