Off to Italy to bike

I suspect there are as many reasons for traveling as there are travelers. Adventure, culture, relaxation, food, exercise, scenery…  People who travel of their own free will may so love their own idea of a great trip that they may become blind-sided to the joys others experience when away from home.

As readers of this blog know, I do love to travel - and for all the reasons stated above. What I found a number of years ago is that there is one kind of travel which manages to incorporate many of them - boat/bike trips.

The concept of a boat/bike trip is simple. One stays aboard a small cruise ship that usually travels a river or other inland waterway. Small cabins, well-prepared meals, comfortable lounges, and top deck viewing areas are standard. But as the name suggests, the boats also carry bicycles, either cruise company or rentals or brought aboard by the passengers, which are ridden on prescribed routes during the day.

While the bikers bike, following either a human guide, provided maps, or GPS programs, the ship sails to the next embarkation point. Biking usually lasts from early morning to mid-afternoon with stops during the day for eating and visiting places of interest. On the tours I have taken, the daily mileage usually runs between 25 and 35 miles, with some days having a choice of longer and shorter route options. Should a person not feel like biking, they may stay on board and just enjoy the scenery. 

I love relaxing on board. I don’t have to change hotel rooms, find new restaurants, or locate guides. I don’t have to do a tremendous amount of trip preparation. The other bikers aboard have always been a pleasant, quite international, bunch. I get exercise every day, even when riding an ebike.

But perhaps most of all, I love seeing the country in slow motion. The back roads. The small towns. Everyday people going about  their everyday work. Small museums and coffee shops. The air comes unfiltered; the sun and rain unavoidable. The cows moo and the birds tweet, just for me. 

I have certainly enjoyed the majority of my biking experiences - from week-long rides in Wisconsin, Missouri, and Minnesota to inn-to-inn trips in Ireland, Provence, and Cambodia. But biking from a boat is very special.

My boat/bike trip in Italy starts this Saturday. I am excited. I hope it falls somewhere in the middle of the list below before I am no longer able to pedal! I still have a lot of places to see from a bike seat and a ship’ deck.

2017 - Prague up Elbe River (SE Tours)

2019 - Northern Holland (Boat Bike Tours)

2021 - Danube, Passau to Budapest (SE Tours)

2022 - Bruge to Amsterdam (Boat Bike Tours)

2023 - Venice to Mantua (Boat Bike Tours)

Bicycles and the Idaho stop

…“bicyclists approaching a four-way stop intersection can treat their stop sign as a yield sign, scan for other vehicles while slowing down and then ride through if clear” (“Stop sign rules relaxed for bicyclists,” Minneapolis Star Tribune, May 29)

A bit of controversy has sprung up over a small bill passed this legislative session here in Minnesota. Bicyclists may now legally perform an “Idaho stop” at intersections, as described above.

I am not sure what to think of this law.  And I have been riding a bike for many, many years.

One rationale for the law as passed is that it simply legalizes what is already a common practice by many, if not most, cyclists - myself included. Given the amount of energy it takes to get a bike up to speed, one hates to toss it away by braking, let alone coming to a complete stop. So gliding through an otherwise unoccupied intersection that has stop signs seems to be common sense.

Sometimes common sense is a better guide to behavior than legality. One rule I follow religiously while biking on roads and streets I share with motor vehicles is that a car or truck will do me more damage than I will do to it if we collide. Therefore, I always yield when in any encounter - even if I technically have the right of way. I doubt St Peter at the Pearly Gates would show much sympathy for bikers who complain, “But I had the right of way!” 

I never give any driver the benefit of the doubt. Bikers are hard to see. Not every driver knows or understands laws and cycling. I stay very, very alert when there is any vehicular activity at all. That just opened driver’s side door can take out a biker pretty fast if the biker does not give enough space between their path and parked cars too.

So, I don’t know just how much impact the new “Idaho stop” law will actually have. I don’t know any bicyclist who has been given a ticket for running a stop sign. I can’t think of any lawsuits that might gain traction from having such a law on the books. Perhaps it was simply a symbolic victory for the powerful bicyclist lobby in the state.

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Speaking of common sense, I would highly recommend reading Grant Petersen’s little book Just Ride. You won’t regret it. I may re-read it before my bicycling trip in Italy starts next week!

Oh, I’ve been collecting these since about 2006…

Some Lessons Learned from Bicycling

Cycle tracks will abound in Utopia. H.G. Wells

1. Balance is a good thing.
2. It's usually uphill and against the wind. (Murphy's Law of Bicycling)
3. Most big hills that look impossible are usually a series of small hills that are possible.
4. I've never met a hill I couldn't walk up.
5. It's better to shift to a lower gear than to stop altogether.
6. Sometimes it's nice to be able to have equipment to blame things on.
7. You really can't make your own weather.
8. Coasting feels good, but you don't get much exercise doing it.
9. A beer at the end of a long day of riding tastes better than a beer when just sitting around (or at breakfast, I'm guessing).
10. Don't drink at lunch time and expect to enjoy the afternoon.
11. Bike helmets are a sure sign that natural selection is still a force of nature.
12. The few minutes putting air in your tires at the beginning of the day is time well spent.
13. There will always be riders who are faster than you and riders who are slower than you.
14. Watching old people zip by you should be encouraging, not discouraging.
15. Too often we quit because our spirit fails, not our legs or lungs.
16. Spouses (or entire families) who dress alike should not expect the rest of us to consider them normal.
17. Too much padding between you and a bike seat is impossible.
18. The happiest people are the ones who consider life a ride, not a race.
19. The more expensive the bike and clothing, the higher the expectations others have of your performance.
20. The 500 calories burnt exercising do not compensate for the 2000 calories from beer drunk celebrating your accomplishment.
21. Everyone can look buxom on a bicycle - even guys.
22. You always feel the headwind, but never the tailwind. But it's there.
23. Most forms of travel involve some degree of discomfort. But keep moving anyway.
24. Cows always have the right of way.
25. You eventually dry out even after the biggest downpour.
26. Don't text and bike.
27. Always be on the look out for idiots. (See number 26.)
28. Be grateful for the ability to create sore muscles.
29. New places look better from a bicycle seat than from the window of a tour bus.
30. The office will do just fine without you while you are on your bike.

And your observations, fellow bicyclists?

My AI guardian angel

Blog post from May 31, 2033

The voice of Hallie comes softly but clearly from just behind my left shoulder. She is my AI guardian angel. A Christmas gift from my children. At the ripe old age of 80, my children support me living independently, but worry about my cognitive abilities. Did I mention this was a Christmas gift from my children?

Replacing the “medical alert” bracelet that my mother’s generation wore for their personal safety, Hallie is a small implant* that uses my five senses and wirelessly connects to the larger datasphere. She of course will notify authorities should I fall or have a stroke, but she also guides me in other areas. Here are a few “suggestions” I was given just today…

• I’m sorry, Douglas, but you should not leave your keys there. You are unlikely to locate them tomorrow since this is not where you usually store them.
• I’m sorry, Douglas, but this is your third glass of wine this evening. Your physician recommends no more than two 4 oz glasses per day. 
• I’m sorry, Douglas, but you don’t really need to buy that shirt from Amazon. You currently own twelve shirts that are quite similar and which show little wear.
• I’m sorry, Douglas, but you should be dropping lower when you do these squats. You are not getting the full benefit of the exercise.
• I’m sorry, Douglas, but you have not called your children for over two weeks now. You should be calling them to assure them you are OK.
• I’m sorry, Douglas, but you should not eat that. It has been in the refrigerator for over a week and tastes as though some bacteria may be present which could cause diarrhea. 
• I’m sorry, Douglas, but shouldn’t you be reading something with a bit more content than the latest Jack Reacher thriller (his 96th now written by Lee Child’s granddaughter.) You only have so many years of reading left.
• I’m sorry, Douglas, but the stock you are about to purchase has had mixed reviews on its expected yield. Inflation has left you with few discretionary dollars.
• I’m sorry, Douglas, but you have been sitting in your recliner now for three hours. You have enough dirty clothes to justify a load of laundry. I suggest you run the washing machine.

Hallie, shut up.

• I’m sorry, Douglas, I can’t do that.

I don’t know about you, but I have the audio turned off on GoogleMaps. I don’t use Siri or GoogleVoice or other voice-activated devices. I don’t really trust the auto-braking feature of the cruise control in my car. 

But I expect the monitored and guided life provided by sophisticated AI will become common, if not mandatory, for folks of a certain age or with diagnosed mental impairments of one kind or another. Did I mention Hallie was a Christmas gift from my children?

Ah, AI. I am still wondering if you will be more like HAL or like C3PO. 

*Neuralink: Elon Musk's brain chip firm wins US approval for human study BBC News May 27, 2023 <https://www.bbc.com/news/health-65717487>