September is my favorite month for outdoor activities. Missing it sucks!
How a year can change a man. Here are a couple images from just a year ago. This is from the WYBDR (story link):
This is from roughly the same time period. It’s a totally different motorcycle in a completely different place (story link):
Wanting something doesn’t make it so. I’ve taken a hit in 2025 that puts me below my level in 2024. It’s naught but a fact. Unlike current society, I’m not at war with truth.
Also, every time I bitch I know that I’m being insufficiently grateful. Gratitude is key! I’m alive. I should be overjoyed! I am overjoyed. I wasn’t entirely sure I’d see autumn.
It’s hard to quantify such things. Maybe I was overreacting. Medical people, soaked in death, decline, and misery, are cynical and worn down. Their baseline is not mine. A doctor might have a dozen patients enduring chemo and many others on the way out for things that can’t be treated at all. Maybe they did time at the ER; frantically patching together bits remaining after car wrecks and farm accidents. They’ve witnessed situations I can’t fathom. I don’t blame them that they didn’t fret much over me. As for the rest of the system, the goal seems to be to shoo the bearded whiner out the door. In the facility, I’m a hassle, if I die one step beyond their parking lot it won’t mess up their stats. Plus, a man can endure a lot more suffering for a lot longer than I was willing to ponder. Thank God (literally) I didn’t have to plumb those depths.
So, if I want to camp but don’t feel up to my usual method of dispersed camping in the middle of nowhere, what should I do? Bitch about it? Well… I do that but it’s definitely uncool. Should I dial back to a State or National Park? Good answer but I’m not ready for that either. So I did what I could. The words of Teddy R are always in my head. They come out in times like these.
“Do what you can, with what you have, where you are.”
It was a glorious warm September day. I quit letting “ideal” be the enemy of “good enough”. I muttered, “Fuck this, I need a campfire.” And headed for the door.
Stay tuned for Part 2.
sounds like you had to deal with cancer. me too. i was diagnosed with prostate cancer that had metastasized to my bones and lungs. a chronic back ache was the indicator. it will be 1 year on 10-24-25. i finished chemo back in may. i can’t do what i used to do either. most other survivors tell me at least 1 year after treatment. i guess i’ll see. hope you regain your strength and endurance soon. illinoischuck
Damn, cancer is a tough one. I wish you all the best getting through that.
I didn’t have cancer. I fear I sound like I’m comparing my bad time to others who had it so much worse. I mean to be humble while still honestly reflecting on “boy it sucked for a few months”. It felt terrible to me but certainly my doctors didn’t worry much and in the long term it was definitely less dire than it might have been. The good news is that I’m already recovering. I do need to show more patience. I have to work on that.
Glad it wasn’t cancer cause it really sucks. Made the 5 year mark this year.
It does suck. I’m glad you’re at the 5 year mark.
Yahoo!! AC is back on the trail!
Thanks!
Baby steps is the way to go … push yourself but not too hard and enjoy the feeling of having achieved something or another, even if it is camping on your front lawn.
Phil B
Glad to hear you are getting back out!
I’ve wanted to let you know for a while now that it was your WYBDR report that inspired me to learn to ride a MC (at the age of 65) and get myself a TW200. The nearby Nat’l Forest has an extensive network of single-track. Learning the machine and getting out has brought a lot of joy (“I’m not dead yet!”). Anyway, I wanted to thank you for posting and let you know your impact on some random dude who read your words and thought, “Hmm, maybe I could do that!” ~BR
Oh my gosh! That’s the nicest thing anyone could ever say!
I’m so happy that you got yourself a motorcycle. I’m delighted I could help with inspiration. That’s the whole point of writing!
I’m glad the plucky little TW200 suits you as well as it has suited me. Don’t let anyone talk down to the unassuming TW, it’s slow and lame on long pavement hauls, but when the WYBDR got hard the little TW didn’t blink. It chewed through the roughest parts of the WYBRD like it just didn’t care. Especially because I was going solo, I valued that it was safe, small, and mechanically simple. A top of the line (and much heavier / taller) ADV bike might look cool but a spill would’ve been a lot likelier and it would be a lot harder to pickup if that happened. (I didn’t drop the TW the whole trip. I’m not a particularly experienced dirt rider, just patient and riding a tractor of a bike.)
Enjoy your National Forest rides and thanks for the happy story!
The way I look at life in the closing of my eighth decade. I’m still looking down at the grass, everything else is just icing on the cake. The dog thinks I should take her for a walk on the beach, I can still do that, the cat’s starving, (or wants me to think he is)
Good to see you are venturing out, even if is is only as far as your backyard.