It's all downhill from here...

No, not talking about our work situation.  Today was laundry day.  While Joan was tending to clothes, I picked up stuff at the store and ran it home.  We need our gas-powered pack mules to get the laundry back and forth.

On the way back to the motorhome, I was dodging the multitude of bicycles in town.  Coming up the slight uphill on Argyle Street, I overheard two people on bicycles walking their bikes up that hill... looking around the corner, she said, "I don't know if I can take any more hills."

He said, "Looks like it is downhill from here."

It is.  For a short distance... then, the real hills begin.  San Juan Island is beautiful, and I can see why people want to ride bikes here... but, the hills and narrow (or non-existent) shoulders on the roads are not well-suited for the casual bike rider.  And by casual, I mean: you better have a lot of low gears and toughened-up leg muscles.

I picked up a pizza for lunch today.  Waiting outside, I overheard a mother and young son talking about their bikes.  She said, "How are you doing with the gears?"

He said, "Gears are stupid!  I told you I wanted a Razerback - they go fast without those stupid gears!"

She patiently tried to explain the premise of shifting gears to keep the effort the same.  The kid wasn't having anything to do with that "stupid stuff."

At our home in Texas, the terrain is flat.  The only reason you need gears on a bicycle there is because of the wind... and there is always wind.  Single-speed beach cruisers are the norm there... that wouldn't be the best around here.  ;-)