Just about every Sunday morning a small group of friends and family gathers in front of my house around nine to go for a breakfast ride. It is a short ride, usually less than 10 miles to the eating spot, and it encompasses riders of all ages with bikes of all kinds. This is where we meet up, gab about the past week, and get some grub in before a few of us break off from the breakfast club and tackle a multi-hundred-mile ride for the rest of the day. In these short hours over a long breakfast, we get updates on spouses, kids, and even grandkids, as well as what was done to whose bike and why so-and-so couldn't make it out this weekend. Sometimes all the talking seems to get monotonous, and to tell you the truth, I was starting to get a bit turned off by the thought of having all these people showing up at my house every week.
The next day, after a great ride with friends and meeting new people at every stop we made, I was having "a case of the Mondays." While hunkered behind my computer in an office with no windows, I got to thinking about our Sunday get-togethers. That is when it dawned on me that in this age of email, voicemail, and snail mail, that very little face-to-face interaction with friends and family actually goes on, and I was very fortunate to have people in my life who enjoyed being around me doing the same things I do. Before faxes, Xbox, and computer chat rooms, people actually had to get out of their offices and living rooms to meet people in the flesh to do business or find someone to love. I am not going to start in and say "things were better back then," because frankly they were not. We have it better now than we ever did as a society, but whether it be a bowling league, a sewing circle, or just a bunch of riders meeting for breakfast, we all need to get out there and interact face to face with the human race. Just like your momma said, "Go outside and get some fresh air." So when the mood strikes you to get on that bike and ride, do it at a moment's notice, and bring a few friends too!
Jeff G. Holt, Associate Editor