Mulling

I once retraced a ride to recover a pump. But that was an hour or so later over a much shorter distance. This trip was a month later, the part was much smaller and, at the height of produce season, probably plowed under the dirt road by trucks within days. I had no idea if this was even the right route.

I used this lame excuse to ride lazily in the sun, saving money on Vit D, an even lamer rationalization. After a crop duster finished a nearby field he buzzed over my area several times. As with the first ride I assumed I was the only one within miles but I didn't think much about it. A lot of lonely people are attracted to cyclists. Why not general aviation? You reason like this when you are lost in thought in the warm sun. I was just happy he wasn't spraying.

In the same area I looked up to see a 2 pickup truck encampment on the river with several guys playing dress up in camo and guns. Not that I'm jumpy since the coup d flop but the first thing I thought was that I intruded on a militia. There wasn't time for me to hide my reaction and pretend I thought they were hunters so I waved yelling "how ya doing" a little too loud.

I turned still retracing the route with one truck's headlights aimed on me the mile to the next road. This made no sense, more evidence that they get their notions on politics from bad memories of Hollywood action b movies. This was somewhat reassuring if depressing. Your odds of survival go up if you are dealing with losers as opposed to someone actually functional enough to kill you. Four times more insurrectionists died as Capitol police. Not one single lawmaker was injured.

I continued retracing searching for the pretty blue Fieri quick release lever that vibrated off. It was probably mangled beyond recognition. I shouldn't have taken a city bike down dirt roads. I shouldn't have tried to disable it, at least not without thinking the jerry rig through.

Must be trillions of dollars wasted every year from engineers being too clever by half or not thinking things through.

I kept mulling and searching in quiet solitude. Lots of lonely people. Lots of waste. I got back to the paved road I had already searched and headed home.