Epilogue - America's B Roads

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By B roads I mean any road that is not an Interstate. Here are a couple of observations of the roads themselves:

They are generally in great condition, not crowded and a pleasure to ride. Kudos to those who maintain them.
There are not enough places to stop. Take the UK for example and layby's are everywhere for no reason and occupied by couples on lawn chairs, travel rugs on knees and thermos in hand. In America we must be too busy to stop even for that spectacular view, I must keep going. It's such a shame.
There are interesting road signs. “Open Range” my first thought being about being shot, not a cow in the road. “No snow plowing 7pm to 6am” It's hard enough finding the road in daylight with snow on the ground. Why state the obvious?



Looking right and left:

If I had a dollar for each Family Dollar Store or Dollar General I saw I could afford my next trip. There are 8,312 and 19,135, respectively in the US as I write and I saw a good many of them. I see the need but variety is dead.
Rural America is in decline. Store fronts shuttered, motels abandoned, only one working drive-in in almost 3,000 miles. In the age of telework and a new economy we should do better.
You better not have an electric vehicle and expect to ride the B roads. Charging stations are few and far between of the major roads.
Looking into someone’s front yard is like looking into their external face, some are beautiful and some not so much.
You see so few live animals during daylight. Saw one fox, a couple of rabbits, one big deer, a bunch of squirrels and in Colorado a bunch of small mole-like animals that I very much hoped were not gophers. I hate gophers as someone who used to live in California and who used to have a lawn.



Places to stay

The hotel chains have killed the mom and pop motel and we are all worse off for it. Doesn’t matter the chain, they are all the same. Same muffins, same disinterested staff, same terrible coffee. A little bias here as years ago my aunt and uncle had a motel in Petoskey, Michigan. They did not live to see this demise, fortunately. Contrast this to other parts of the world. The experiences may not always be great, but they are different and usually welcoming. Thank goodness for AirBnB and the like.



People

Amazing diversity, not just in race, but in interests, backgrounds, perspective on life, etc. Admittedly my sample was biased towards old people as they talk to you rather than look through you. Older readers will know what I am talking about particularly when the old person, aka me, is sporting an unshaven face and ridiculous bike gear.
Young people in economically disadvantaged areas have an air of malaise bordering on a look of despair in some cases. A dead-end job (if lucky) in a town in decline, making minimum wage with no benefits, who can blame them. No wonder we have a drug problem. Bill, who I met in Fort Scott, Kansas had worked as an engineer for Ford for 30 years. Loyal to the company which was loyal to him. Where does that exist today? Shareholder profits are killing the average working person. Putting on my dean hat we need to do more to support these folks and lift them out of this situation. I will write about that in my dean’s blog.
I used to have a poster of a grisly looking cowboy with rotten teeth, underneath was the caption, “if I knew I was going to live this long I would have taken better care of myself.” While you can't fight your genes and bad luck with cancer and other ailments, it is clear that an active mind, exercise and a reasonable diet are sure going to help. I say that based on the spectrum of older folks that I ran into. Sure it's an obvious thing to say, but seeing and having the time to think about it, is believing.
The family unit is strong wherever you go. Never think about it usually, but being alone and doing a lot of observing in restaurants, attractions etc. it is clearly so. Thank goodness.




Well that’s it. The trusty beamer had a well deserved, albeit expensive service today and new tires to go with it. She tells me she is ready for her next adventure and will need a new clutch soon.

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