Earlier this year, a friend visiting from Colorado to enjoy the Belgian Waffle Ride with me mentioned that the Crater Lake Century is on his bucket list but he couldn't do it this year because of a schedule conflict. After seeing Crater Lake several times from commercial flights overhead, I've wanted to get there to see it up close, so I added that ride to my list. Now that I've retired and turning 60 this year, I don't delay my bucket list items. Whether or not you share lanes with distracted and irrational drivers, you never know when your number is up, so why wait?
Crater Lake is amazing year-round and looks gorgeous when it's not covered in smoke.
Sometimes my timing isn't so good. Like when I asked my wife to marry me. Bad timing, wrong approach. But hey, we're still together, married, happy and in love almost 42 years after our first date on August 19, 1976.
Well, it looks like my timing on "which year to ride the Crater Lake Century" could not be worse. I got an email a few days ago from Zach Gilmour (the ride organizer and owner of Zach's Bikes) explaining how the ride could potentially be canceled due to fire hazards and air quality. For me, it's not just the fires near Crater Lake that are a factor. You see, I'm DRIVING up there (leaving San Diego on the 13th) and planning to do some rides along the way. I plan to take a somewhat coastal route on the way there, then an inland path on the way back. And guess what...there are quite a few fires along the way, all in various stages of growth or containment. As I type this, the Mendocino Complex fire has just become the second-largest in California history. The Carr/Redding fire has destroyed so much and killed so many, but the air might be clear enough for me to stick to my camping plans in areas like Shasta Lake because it's already 45% contained and I'm not going to be in that area until August 19th.
Well, it looks like my timing on "which year to ride the Crater Lake Century" could not be worse. I got an email a few days ago from Zach Gilmour (the ride organizer and owner of Zach's Bikes) explaining how the ride could potentially be canceled due to fire hazards and air quality. For me, it's not just the fires near Crater Lake that are a factor. You see, I'm DRIVING up there (leaving San Diego on the 13th) and planning to do some rides along the way. I plan to take a somewhat coastal route on the way there, then an inland path on the way back. And guess what...there are quite a few fires along the way, all in various stages of growth or containment. As I type this, the Mendocino Complex fire has just become the second-largest in California history. The Carr/Redding fire has destroyed so much and killed so many, but the air might be clear enough for me to stick to my camping plans in areas like Shasta Lake because it's already 45% contained and I'm not going to be in that area until August 19th.
Carr (Redding) fire victims, police. (Photo: ABC News)
Suffice to say I'm rethinking my ride plans. I have limited time (need to be in Santa Barbara for a family wedding by the 24th), but I have resources. I have money, a big-ass Sprinter cargo van, and plans to go near some pretty devastated areas. My heart compels me to look into ways I might be able to directly help victims of the fires. Most people have insurance, but most people also have totally inadequate savings to help them through tough times, like when they're waiting for the insurance company to shell out some money. Maybe a stranger showing up in their burned-out neighborhood with food, drinks, and a little cash to help them through the day might be a sight for sore, smoke-singed eyes? I don't know. I like to leave a positive emotional footprint, and that's more important than how many miles I ride on this trip. We'll see how this unfolds.
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