Ferret's slowing down.

[LongRanger_imp]

I stopped for breakfast in Granby, CO, on my ride today. A well-dressed elderly gentleman approached as I parked the F800GT. I think he was on his way home from church.

"What a beautiful cycle. Can I ask how much you paid for it?"

"Um, about 14."

"Wow, that's really something. I'm 74 now and stopped riding cycles in 1970."

(I did the math in my head and concluded he quit riding when he was about 25).

"Well, things have really changed since then."

"I'll say. What's that?" he asked, pointing to the enclosed CO2 cartridge bulging from my Helite Turtle airbag vest.

I explained to him what it was and he has dumbstruck. "Heck, in my day, we wore helmets. And blue jeans. That was it."

I got a huge chuckle out of that. I was trying to envision this gentleman as a 20-something astride his Triumph Bonneville, or his CB450, or his Sportster. I couldn't stereotype him, but then again, I think there were fewer stereotypes back then. But I wondered what led him to give up riding at such a young age. Did he lose a buddy? Did he scare himself silly? Did he settle down and have a family? I then thought of Ferret and the pain he's going through of having to possibly curtail his lifestyle, or at least reduce it. It was a stark reminder that life is short and that we need to get out and go do the things we enjoy NOW. Don't wait. Tomorrow is not guaranteed to anyone.

This photo was taken today on CO9 between Kremmling and Silverthorne, CO. That's the 13,500' Gore Range in the background. Vail is on the other side of those peaks.