Just thinking about it

Our daughter asked if we were having a mid-life crisis. Well, we don’t really know exactly when midlife happens. And who coined it “mid-life crisis” anyway? Just so happens to coincide with the kids out of the house and a bit of extra cash. That’s the real reason for the red sports cars and other toys. No mystery there. Our red convertible really is something with the top down. Well, it doesn’t have a top.

He even has a red bike. She has a periwinkle blue bike. Both are older but roadworthy.
He thinks that he can get away with the new 700cc wheels that he ordered. She isn’t sure about her hybrid. His bike is an ancient, but trusty Miyata that is likely having a midlife crisis of its own. It has thousands of miles on it and thousands of scratches as well. It is its own anti-theft device.

Unlike his bike, her bike is not a touring bike. She has never toured with a real touring bike and being at that midlife age, she is thinking of something that handles better especially on fast downhills. Her first tour to New Zealand was on a Miyata sport touring bike, a measly 10-speed. She didn’t know any better and wasn’t aware of such things as granny gears. Ignorance is bliss as is youth. Now an official card carrying member of AARP, she can relate to anything granny. The search is now on for the perfect touring bike. Yep, there’s the Bruce Gordon and other custom bikes. They all cost more than she has ever paid for a car. Don’t know if it is possible to get over that kind of sticker shock. Then again, if the bike is used for 10 years, then it is just a few hundred a year to have a rather nice, proprietary touring bike.

As for him, he is quite happy with that red Miyata that went to NZ in 1986, our first cycling tour ever and not too shabby of a place for touring either.

Ideally, we would like to find some used bikes, just like our first Miyatas. Doesn’t seem like there are many out there. So, we can think about it. For sure, she needs to go clipless and winter looms large. Time to switch and learn. The pedals are somewhere in the box of cycling things, but she destroyed the shoes long ago on a bike tour through Spain. The shoes never dried out and some nasty things took up residence. The shoes are somewhere in a landfill in Spain.