Goodbye Dan

My buddy, Dan, is moving to Seattle this weekend. He's following his heart to greener pastures and we decided the best way to send him off would be a man trip on the bikes for a night of camping. In the end, we had eight guys riding on two wheels to the Kentucky Horse Park. It's my second trip by bike to the Horse Park. You really can't beat the Legacy trail and the options for getting there. It's pretty peaceful, scenic and about 30 miles from my front door.

It was a quick trip. We opted to leave after work and be back before work the next morning. But it was plenty of time to ride hard, sit by the fire and say nice things about Dan (We never actually said nice things about him. I just assumed we were all thinking nice thoughts, though).

I did have a major hiccup during the ride there. One of my Ortlieb panniers had a little snafu and got caught in my rear wheel, completely obliterating it. I don't think I can repair it. But I've heard good things about Ortlieb's customer service. I'm hoping they'll smile on me with grace. I'm absolutely positive that it should not have happened. As little as I've used those bags, I really feel like they should cover me here. I certainly haven't gotten my money's worth out of them.

I was incredibly pleased with my Eno Hammock. This is my first overnight trip in the hammock. I really didn't expect to sleep well through the night. I'm a terrible sleeper but sleeping in a tent somehow offers better sleep than in my own bed. I felt like I was at risk of losing one of those awesome night's sleep in the tent. Not so, though. I slept great in the Eno. Perhaps it isn't tent sleeping that my mind and body love so much. Perhaps it's just sleeping outside. Either way, the Eno was great. Super cool on a pretty warm night and totally comfy for my back.

All in all, it was a great trip. Dan, you will be missed greatly. It's fitting to send you off with a bike trip. You're going to a bike friendly world and we'll be envious.

Get out there.