# Strategic rut avoidance.



## mikesee (Aug 25, 2003)

As we proceed down into autumn, shorter days create opportunities for new habits to form. Or maybe just old habits re-emerging after a summer of dormancy. One of these -- which is quite welcome -- is finding time to read before bed, instead of merely collapsing exhausted.





While camped at 10,000' a few nights ago, with the wind ripping outside and a few dozen driven raindrops stinging the skin of the van, I burrowed into William Least Heat Moon's _Blue Highways_. It is, in my humble opinion, a work that can (must?) be re-read every few years, so insightful is it that I doubt even a borderline savant could ingest every gem in fewer than a handful of readings.





One of many that leapt out at me that night, and that stuck with me throughout the next day's ride, was this:







_*After the Rappites, the hedges disappeared, but a generation ago, citizens replanted the maze, it's contours strikingly like the Hopi map of emergence. *_







_*I walked through it to stretch from the long highway. Even though I avoided the shortcut holes broken in the hedges, I still went down the rungs and curves without a single wrong turn. *_







_*The "right" way was worn so deeply in the earth as to be unmistakeable. But without the errors, wrong turns, and blind alleys, without the doubling back and misdirection and fumbling and chance discoveries, there was not one bit of joy in walking the labyrinth. *_





_*And worse: knowing the way made traveling it perfectly meaningless.*_





Like many who've arrived at middle age, I often find myself consciously leaning into the happy rut that is my everyday life, embracing what has been created through years of effort and not a little bit of good luck.

It takes something special -- the change of seasons always suffices -- to make me conscious of the need to step out of that rut.

Once I've stopped looking over my shoulder at its' comforting familiarity and begun to embrace what's in front of me, I always, always realize that new experiences are more valuable to me than almost anything else.





Thanks for checkin' in.​


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## Outrider66 (Jan 30, 2018)

Holy crap - that is some stunningly gorgeous scenery. Thanks for posting.


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## Mudguard (Apr 14, 2009)

Lovely photos. Here I was trying to work out someone would try and avoid ruts because they're fifty.
But now I get it.


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## FitmanNJ (May 23, 2011)

Mike's post says a lot as to why I end up riding alone so much since, unfortunately, my riding friends are all rut-aholics. There are at least 32 different mountain bike trail systems where I live in New Jersey, and my friends refuse to ride all but three or four.:madman:

Fascinating subject. I've also heard improvisational musicians speak of the same pursuit of new/unique experiences, which they referred to as "being on the edge" -- with their minds totally into spontaneous performance. It's quite a thrill when you're in that zone...


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## mikesee (Aug 25, 2003)

I guess I never laid it out explicitly, but the pics in this post show 3 trails, 2 of which were new to me. And they weren't amazing, but they were new, and, well, you know...


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## Sanchofula (Dec 30, 2007)

Just keep on keeping on, new is fun even if ain’t all that, just feels good to be somewhere and do something that’s familiar.

As I get older I find it easier to say no, but I make myself say why not. I nearly always get something in return that keeps the embers burning.

Hiking this weekend at Great Basin National Park, met two people hiking the trails, both in their seventies, one was just happy to be out hiking and said “isn’t it beautiful?”, the other was unhappy to be hiking and was quick to say “this is terrible, I’m almost seventy!.”

I wanna be the happy person, at seventy, eight, even ninety.

Great pics as always, thanks Mike!


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## milliesand (Jun 29, 2015)

I don't know which of your gifts are the most amazing: Your writing, the photography, or the wheels you build. But thank you for shareing


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## mikesee (Aug 25, 2003)

milliesand said:


> I don't know which of your gifts are the most amazing: Your writing, the photography, or the wheels you build. But thank you for shareing


Thanks for the kind words, Tom.


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## sgltrak (Feb 19, 2005)

Great post, as always. The valuable reminder to get out of the rut is constantly needed. This season I hiked more and biked less than the past several, but almost every ride was somewhere new. That is a stark contrast from 3 seasons ago when 190 of my rides left from my driveway. I always appreciate your words and photos.


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## Radium (Jan 11, 2019)

Great post, Mikesee. Blue Highways is one of my all-time favorite road stories.


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## Radium (Jan 11, 2019)

Although, I have to say, I thought this would be a post about picking one's way through a maze of deep erosion ruts, which pepper an area I ride in.


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## sgltrak (Feb 19, 2005)

Thanks for keeping some passion in the 50+ forum so that everything isn't about old people problems!


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## mikesee (Aug 25, 2003)

sgltrak said:


> Thanks for keeping some passion in the 50+ forum so that everything isn't about old people problems!


Eh?! Speak up, sonny!


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