Eventually, of course, the wind changed.
No more 20-knot assaults out of the north. Sometimes now, the seas are calm enough to permit my little 18-foot bowrider to go into the blue-water ocean again. For the patient, turbulent times eventually give way to more peaceful times. Unfortunate things still happen, and sometimes there are still 2-foot seas in Cudjoe Bay, but these are, I am happy to report, more of an exception now than a rule. In a fine (for me) reversal of fortune last week, it was me towing a disabled boater into port.
I've been riding 10 miles a day on the ole Schwinn, and twice now I've (we've) done the 15.5 mile ride from US-1 through Middle Torch Key and Big Torch Key and back. By my estimate, I've put about 600-650 miles on the Schwinn now, and as you may have guessed, I'm now encountering maintenance issues. The Schwinn Crest is a fine casual cruiser, but my 200+ mile/month habit is beginning to knock me out of the 'casual biker' category and more into the 'srs biz on two wheels' category. I share your stereotypes about bicyclers too, with their expensive machines and seemingly fitness-crazed lifestyles, so it is with some alarm that I woke up one day to discover that I am one. So here I am, learning bicycle maintenance to keep the Schwinn alive as I shop for a nice Cannondale. Or Trek. Or Specialized. I don't know what I'll get yet, and I scarcely even know what I want. But I know how and where I ride, and that seems like a pretty good start. Despite what pedaling into that nasty winter wind has done to my knees, I am simply incomplete without a good 10-mile ride. Yeah, the cardio and weight control are cool, but they're no longer closely related to why I do it. My name is Christopher and I'm a bicycle nut.
But that's not all. The Fleet has added a third ship (for those keeping score, yes the Porta-Bote is still here), with the re-acquisition of a kayak, and she's a beaut, too:
It's a brand spankin new Hobie Odyssey, and although I initially had great difficulty discovering a reliable way to secure it atop the Honda Element, I eventually got the hang of it, and we discovered that the sheltered, upper-estuarial waters of northern Cudjoe Key offer a fine alternative when the other waters are too rough, or the winds too high. Shallow, perhaps, but that's no challenge for the kayak's 2-inch draft.
So we're all doing fine, even Colby, and I'm still in school struggling to find the time to compose enormous papers for Composition class as I attempt to balance all the fun outdoor toys with ever-increasing work demands. But it all works out, and frankly, as long as that is the most of my worries, I'm okay with that. I'm mostly concerned with maximizing my enjoyment of the space I have here, the sun, saltwater, and trails of the Lower Keys, and imagine my surprise at discovering that none of this ever gets old. Despite the seemingly limited (in terms of square mileage) space, enjoyment only begets more enjoyment. I guess I'm doing something right, because I'm still not writing letters to the Citizen or bigpinekey.com moaning about how the Keys aren't what they used to be. I leave that to other people, and they're apparently pretty good at it. Speaking of printed public moaning:
(Here it is, kids, C-Dawg's Post-Political Declaration of 2010)
Lately I'm losing interest in labels and outrage of nearly all sorts, and it is this to which I attribute the utter lack of political content in belgo.com in recent entries (years). It isn't that I've forgotten what I disliked, and it certainly isn't that I've ceased to disagree with government policies. In part, recent uncivil protests and harshly divisive rhetoric have made a profound point to me, and it isn't the one they were trying to make. In part, I've come to accept that whatever course of action I take is unlikely to matter. The one time I did write a long position piece and publish it in the public rags, I got about 3 responses about how long and boring it was, and one response from a person who seemed to be genuinely reached by it, but he wasn't newly-persuaded, mind you, merely agreeing because we already felt the same way. Lastly, in part, I've come to be more absorbed in my silly little life here, and that silly little life is going to be largely the same no matter who's in what office or who spits and curses at whom. I'll still hold positions, mind you, and I will express them in exactly one place, where they are solicited and counted with an optical scanner by Monroe County. That's it. You can have your Tea Parties, Coffee Parties, deficit crises, wars, just don't expect me to give up my morning ride or go to your meetings or read your vitriolic rants for what is essentially team spectator sports by any other name. This is the age of the post-political Christopher Shepherd, and he doesn't care what you think of that. You can call it apathy, but as I've said, I'll still vote.
(If you think that's something, just wait till I get started on religion and mainland USA. Hint: My attitude on those things is almost exactly the same as the political posture I've just expressed. Enjoy your beautiful world. I'll enjoy mine, and you can bank on that.)
Now I think I've said enough. And if you'll excuse me, tomorrow's gonna be a gorgeous day. :)
-Chris
