Commuting - Pioneers

Sometimes while driving across the U.S.A. I have thought how easy it was to do compared with the early pioneers who blazed those trails. They had to have guts. They had to be different from the rest, who called them "crazy" to do that. To go to a place you've never been, pulling up stakes from familiar surroundings, and build a new home where only wilderness existed takes the spirit of a pioneer.

In that same context, bicycle commuters have earned the honor of being modern-day pioneers in my book.

Originally posted by Ba-Dg-Er
We're almost reverse pioneers, trying to expand our world and our minds.

Elegantly said, Badger.

There are two kinds of people: pioneers and settlers. Pioneers are constantly pushing the envelope, seeking new ways (& routes), not content with status quo. Settlers, get comfortable with the environment and status quo, and stop growing (their minds, not their waists!)

You are a pioneer!

I might be a settler. I've got my little homestead, but I have to go far afield to bring home the grub. I put on my special riding clothes, saddle up, and head down the lonely path. The trail is frought with danger of wild beasts, unfriendly natives, and the elements. When I arrive in town, I hit the watering hole, change into my spiffies and conduct my business. At the end of the day, its back to the boonies to tend for my brood and domestic animals.

How about the early bicycle adventurers who had only two rear cogs, and had to dismount, remove the rear wheel, reverse it, and reinstall it in order to achieve one-twentieth of what we can do with the flick of a thumb?

That may not be pioneering, but I call it commitment! :beer:

Reading this string brought something to mind that I hadn't thought about in a long time.
Towards the end of the 1800's, the government opened up some land north of Greeley, Colorado for homesteading. My Great-grandfather was living south of a little town named Wilsonville, Nebraska, and decided to take advantage of the offer. He borrowed a bike from a friend, loaded up what he was going to need, and headed out. Today, the route is 288 miles...who knows how far he had to go back then! He made it to his chosen piece of ground, and lived on it for a year, making improvements all the time, before he finally sent for his wife and the rest of the family. One of my uncles even came up with a letter from the guy who originally owned the bike my great-grandfather used. Seems rather than return the bike, he just purchased it, and it was a letter of thanks for the money from the original owner! Wonder what ever happened to that bike?