Do not rely on a single source for all your opinions. Use multiple sources to gather information. Consider all those sources carefully before you settle on “the facts.” Remember that even then, the facts you have settled on are ephemeral and are likely to change as history unfolds. Be able to change with them.
If you want to persuade someone to your point of view, beating them with a stick or beating them with your words will not bring about positive results. Don’t say to someone “stop doing that,” or “stop doing that because it is wrong.” Instead, say stop doing that and then provide them with facts to show them why they will benefit by doing so. Those that choose to deny facts cannot be helped. Remember they are in the minority, not the majority.
The attention you pay to any action should always be in proportion to its value. That value is determined by the benefit that will be returned to you and also to the value that will be returned to your fellow beings. It doesn’t matter if that return is recognized or not.
Do not be anxious about the future. Realize instead that unless you are in control of some aspect of man’s destiny (most of us are not in such a position) there is little we can do to control that destiny — beyond those things that are our public duty.
Feeling bad about something that hasn’t happened yet is a choice that we are making. It is a choice that is draining energy from us that could otherwise be put to some worthwhile purpose.
The Stoic dresses in whatever way is customary for the location and situation. The Stoic does not attempt to stand out from the crowd. What makes the Stoic unique is what is inside. Uniqueness threatens and alienates many people. Often it is those people that are most in need of what you have to offer.
Peace of mind is not just about doing a few things as opposed to many things, it is about doing a few things well. That includes avoiding unnecessary things. Doing so gives us the best chance of doing all that we have the ability to accomplish.
Avoid those tasks that are purely driven by vanity. We must focus on eliminating those things that are a waste of our time.
My sign for the No Kings Rally on March 28.
Stop Wars Now
The good life does not consist in its length. The good life is defined by its accomplishments. A long life lived too little is a short life. The best approach is to focus on the task at hand, whatever that is.
You have two voices in your head. Don’t let the “resistance voice” prevent you from doing what you know you should be doing. Listen to the voice that tells you what to do. Ignore the voice that is trying to give you excuses not to do it.
Use philosophy to prepare yourself. The pursuit of wisdom is the best work you can undertake to prepare for any outcome that might befall you.
Choose quality over quantity.
How do you keep up with all.the information, all the books published every year. You don’t. Choose wisely what you consume and absorb carefully what you consume. This is how you fill your mind and enrich your life.
How do you get good at Pickleball? “Learn, practice, train.”
The Stoics knew this. Epictetus in his Discourses said: Don’t be satisfied with mere learning. Learn, practice, train. This is as true with philosophy as it is for athletics. Learn the right thing. Practice the right thing. Train for a lifetime to do the right thing.
Thinking about the future, thinking about the past, is easy. Real thinking is to focus on what is in front of us. What you do today might be the last thing you ever do.
Momento Mori
A Latin phrase meaning “remember that you will die.” The phrase is a symbolic reminder of the inevitability of death and the fleeting nature of life. Ancient Romans used the phrase to inspire humility, perspective, and urgency. It is intended to encouraging people to live fully, value time, and avoid wasting life.
I didn’t believe in it for a moment
but I gulped down the wine of my own voice
And then I wrestled with the darkness inside me,
knocked it down, clawed at it, ripped it to shreds.
We need to examine the darkness inside ourselves. If we can’t do that honestly and describe to others what those failings are, we are not truly human. Don’t ask someone “what are your strengths?” Instead ask them, “what are your shortcomings?” The answer will reveal all you need to know about that person.
Beware the “Illusory Truth Effect.” That is the tendency to believe something you have heard multiple times. This is a trick politicians use to suck us into following them. This is usually accompanied by the suggestion (again made multiple times) that they are the only one that has the answer.
The Adventure Cycling Association (ACA) has established many classic bicycle touring routes across the United States, possibly none more scenic than the Northern Tier Route. The Southern Tier and the TransAm are the other two classic transcontinental routes. I have ridden the Southern Tier and the TransAm, the Southern in 2018 and the TransAm in 2023. It’s time to complete the trifecta.
The Northern Tier is the longest of the three routes. I plan to do it solo unless there are others that want to join. My intent is to camp and cook most of the time. From time-to-time I will be taking meals at restaurants along the way and staying in motels or hostels. My partner is planning to sag me the first few days, likely across the state of Washington. The would be the first 400 miles. After that she will meet me along the route in a couple of different places for some rest days and to enjoy some of the many sites along the route.
I’ll be starting the tour in Anacortes Washington on June 1st and finish in Bar Harbor Maine. This makes sense for me because I live in Central Oregon and Anacortes is a one day drive from my doorstep.
There are four major mountain passes along the route. It will be challenging. I believe nows the right time to have a go at the Northern Tier. I’ve been given the gift of cycling and I’m not getting any younger. I’m not world class, but I enjoy the experience and find it challenging and also exhilarating. I will be using the ACA’s digital map set to navigate the route.
I ride a custom titanium road bike built by Bill Davidson in Seattle Washington. I’ll be carrying my gear in Ortlieb front and rear panniers on Nitto Campee touring racks. I have a hub generator for the front light. I would also like to use the hub generator to keep my cell phone charged, but I’m still working out the details on that. There are other options for charging, including solar. Since this route presents some road challenges, narrow shoulders in places and both truck and recreational traffic on the road, I’ll also be using look-back radar to keep me apprised of what is behind me. That is another piece of equipment to keep charged, so I may have to add a second generator to the bike. I might go with a simple handlebar mirror in lieu of radar, or I might opt for both. The rest of the equipment is what you would expect a trekking backpacker to carry.
For the mathematicians out there, here are some calculations you might like. These are approximations only.
As I get closer to the start date these will be refined. Once on the road these are subject to change.
I typically start riding early in the morning. That gives me the most options at the end of the day for finding accommodations, or setting up camp and cooking. I like to relax after dinner, unwind, write a bit about the day and generally get ready for the next day. A late start to the day’s riding just makes all that a lot more difficult. I do not ride after dark.
Keep scrolling. You will find information below about:
Each of the 11 sections on the route. These pages have been compiled from the official ACA mapping information.
My proposed itinerary. This is a suggested itinerary. Riding circumstances are variable. Weather, terrain, physical conditioning and a host of other factors could have an impact on this plan. The plan does not show rest days and will likely be modified before heading out and during the ride itself.
My personal training plan. Caveat: I’m not an expert in developing training plans but I think this is a good start. It’s a 13 week plan. Each week I will update that week’s training plan with pertinent commentary (just for fun).
I will be posting additional information here about sight seeing, side trips, campgrounds and other accommodations as I develop those.
You can follow me on the journey. Once the tour begins, I will be posting here every day, Use the link “Bicycling the Northern Tier” on the Contents page to filter and view just those entries pertaining to the Northern Tier tour. (There’s a lot of other stuff here that may or may not be of interest. That is of course a matter of opinion and taste.
Here is one of my favorite photos from my TransAm tour in 2023.
Here is one of my favorite photos from my SouthernTier tour in 2018.
When I had the bike built back in 2018 I didn’t know much about dynamo hubs. I had a SON Deluxe added to the build but it only puts out 2.8w. That wasn’t a huge consideration for my first two tours because I was using paper maps for navigation. This is 2027 and I’ll be navigating digitally this time so keeping the phone charged is a must. The Schmidt SON Deluxe dynamo hub isn’t going to cut it.
This time around I’m probably going to go with the Schmidt SON 28. That is a high output dynamo at lower touring speeds. I will need to find a wheel builder that can put this together for me. It will be important to be able to take the headlight out of the circuit when maximum charging is needed. I’ll be charging to a power bank, not directly to the phone. That will give me more options.
This page intentionally left blank. Please use the “Bicycling the Northern Tier” link on the Contents page to access additional material.
This page intentionally left blank. Please use the “Bicycling the Northern Tier” link on the Contents page to access additional material.
I realize I’m getting (way) ahead of myself here. It’s March of 2026 and I’m steeped in Stoic thinking as you may have noticed from these pages. It occurred to me that I will need a new thought project for 2027 and I decided that to study Buddhist Wisdom on a daily basis would be a worthwhile practice to undertake.
I’m not saying one is better than the other, quite the contrary. I’m a firm believer that all philosophies and all religions have something to offer us if we are open to listening. At a time when openness and listening seems to be in decline, I’m committed to making it a daily part of my life as a form of protest, but also as a path to personal growth.
Please feel free to dip into my 2026 Stoic entries. They are easily filtered using the Contents link in the navigation bar above. I hope you will be inspired to follow along in 2027 as I explore Buddhist Wisdom.
Namaste
The real failure of America is that the richest and most powerful nation in the world — the nation that has led the world since World War II and that established the postwar international order emphasizing multilateralism, democracy, human rights, and the rule of law — is now being led by a rogue president who rejects all these values.
If you voted for that man because you thought he would be good for your 401K, because he would lower the price of gasoline, because he would end all wars around the world, or for any number of other promises he made that have all been broken, you have been duped.
Now, let’s talk about immigration. America was founded as a pluralist nation. The strength of our economy and society has always been based on the diversity of our population. You cannot have a nation of golf-playing white people and expect that nation to thrive socially and culturally.
Now, let’s talk about war. America is engaged in a genocidal war and the American people don’t even know why we are fighting it, not to mention the fact that whatever the perceived threat, it can not be solved by bombing a nation. Many U.S. allies have declared the American and Israeli action a violation of international law and a breach of the UN Charter. In what world does it make sense to wage a war without the support of your closest allies…
Now let’s talk about democracy. Never in America’s history have we been led by a man with more authoritarian desire. Authoritarianism is something that is difficult to roll back once it becomes instantiated. We have a weakened Congress that is afraid to do its job — legislate. We have an administration that has filled its leadership rolls with people that have little to no experience in the duties that have been assigned to them. We have people in positions of leadership who outwardly confess that violence and chaos are valid leadership strategies. We are watching the dismissal of anyone in government whose job it is to provide legal guardrails. These deficiencies are hallmarks of authoritarianism, not democracy.
Let’s talk about government waste. At the same time that benefits and important programs supporting Americans are being cut, Government spending is at an all time high on things that are benefiting those in power instead of the people they are supposed to be representing.
We are in for a tough time ahead. Let’s consider the possibility of a change in leadership direction. Let’s encourage our legislators to start talking to each other. Let’s consider electing representatives that are more interested in America than they are in their own wealth or self-aggrandizement.
Let’s think critically about the future of our country when we go to the polls.
The title might lead you to think I’m asking an existential question, I’m not. What I’m asking is “why am I here and not on Facebook?” The simple answer is I look much better in print than I do in a video feed or a photo. That’s not the only reason. I’m 72 years old. All I’ve done my whole like is write (and occasionally take photos to remind myself where I’ve been). To go after “followers” and “produce content” for consumption by strangers, all the while counting my likes and follows is not something I want to spend time doing. (You can, if you prefer, insert the word “curmudgeon” in place of any pronouns used to identify me.)
Naturally, you’re about to ask me so what is a blog if not simply an old school version of a Facebook presence. Fair question. The difference, for me at least, is I am reaping the reward that comes from writing without the pressure of having to “create.” So what good is writing without pressure? It fulfills me in a private and personal way that forcing myself to produce content can’t. Also, on occasion a friend drops in to see what I’m up to. But perhaps more important than that, I’m leaving behind a legacy. Even if it is one that is largely ignored. Some of the people closest to me don’t look at these pages, that’s okay. When I’m all done writing, or when I can’t write any longer, I’m going to have all of this printed and handed out at my memorial. (As punishment for the survivors I suppose.) I’m well over a thousand pages, so you shouldn’t feel bad if you skip reading a few here and there when you are handed all this and told your dad, partner, friend, wanted you to have this. If you’re not handed this, it’s because I decided to have it buried with me instead, or cremated with me, or composted with me, I’m not sure which path I’m going to take yet. Whether your receive this or not is largely dependent on whether or not I eventually master English grammar.