What We Need is a Better Odometer

Looking back through this blog I found that there are 205 articles published, and 161 articles in draft. The ones in draft are articles that I wrote, but decided I didn't want to publish.

Even the articles I've published went through a process of editing and rewriting. Some of my closest riding buddies know that when I write an article, I actually don't publish it right away, opting to put myself into a "cooling down" period, and rereading it to make sure I really want to say that.

If I were to jump on my motorcycle and go for a ride, and no one was able to read about it, then did the ride ever happen?

Our journeys are always recorded in the odometer, though without any detail. The court system makes a small paper trail of your ride if you get cited by a cop. If you used your credit card to buy gas or food, another tiny paper trail is made. Or you may have documented your ride with some digital photos.

This blog has documented many rides I've taken, and it was only after going back through it did I remember some rides I had all but forgotten about.

When I write about a ride I try not to go through a dry recap of where I rode to...

"We left the gas station at 10:00am, then we headed down Hwy 79, and when we got to Hwy 78, we turned right and headed to Julian. We had lunch at Rongbranch Saloon. I had a cheeseburger."

Instead, I try to find something else in the ride that lets me share my feelings, opinions, or go into something philosophical.

But over so many rides, sometimes I can't think of what to say. Sometimes I just didn't take any photos. I even paid for my lunch with cash. Maybe just the gas was charged to my credit card, yet I don't keep my credit card receipts. And because of that there are many rides I'll never remember.

Only the odometer is keeping track, and yet even that won't show me each ride I did.

I guess it's about time someone designed an odometer with more features.