Sometimes it takes me even longer to get around to sorting it out. For the two weeks since the end of the journey my expedition bike has been sitting downstairs, propped against the table in dusty pieces, a final reminder of how good the journey was. It is always like this, finding the motivation to wash the dust away after a journey is a difficult thing. Not only is ‘clean’ an unnatural state for such a bicycle to be in but that layer of dust, thickly caked in places, is the final tangible link to wonderful days on the trail. Once it is gone the adventure somehow becomes less real… all that remains are memories and photographs that are somehow less effective than a coating of dirt in rekindling the happiness of being on on a bicycle in wild and empty places…
Once the washing is done however thoughts turn to servicing it and repairing or replacing parts that need attention… and that I think of as the first step towards the next adventure, and instead of looking back I can look forward again with anticipation to that fantastic feeling that comes from setting out on a dusty, mountainous journey :-)
Speaking of repairs and servicing, I have to give a big nod of thanks to Cascade Designs for repairing my MSR Hyperflow water filter free of charge, and turning it around in just a few days, despite its years of use. They really are a stand-out company in terms of customer support, a few years ago I had an MSR Dragonfly stove, after some 8 years of heavy use the burner assembly failed.. it too was replaced PDQ and with no questions. Just brilliant.
Hi Mike. I kind of feel the same. Maybe it’s separation anxiety. I did bikepacking around August, just the south of Cebu. I haven’t finished writing or blogging about it. Maybe because I didn’t want it to end. I can still vividly remember the trip but I couldn’t get myself to write the conclusion to the story.
One adventures ends, another awaits. The question is, where to next.
Cheers! :)
hey, nice to hear from you.. I think you should finish writing it up while the memories are fresh, not just so I can read it but so you can read it too in the future when you’re having a dull day and remember how good it was.. in a year or three you’ll enjoy looking back I reckon. I do..
Hi Mike,
I just cleaned up our bikes tonight. It’s been a month already that we went back from our last adventure. But I feel the same as you do. I cleaned them in order to go back further and longer. I think this is where picture and word exists. To remind us to keep dreaming between two dusty bikes.
Cheers!
-Carl & Anaïs
hey, cheers for reading and yup.. I think when you have an expedition bike sitting there, ready to go and saying “ride me” the motivation to get on and make another one happen as soon as possible is much greater.