The handkerchief

9/5/25

Today I brought a handkerchief. A simple solution to a simple problem. On my ride I spent some time contemplating what it’s like to have a serious illness. I also considered the dilemma posed by the coincidence of Oktoberfest and sober October, both of which I want to honor, in the same month. I think I’ll find a reasonable compromise. I rode by the very nice looking new clubhouse at the golf course and observed a self driving… well, I don’t know what to call it. On Amazon the old-school version is called a golf push cart. So this thing I saw today looked like that, but no one pushing. It was self-pushing, and it was transporting someone’s clubs. And I wondered, will we soon see such a cart accompanying a robot golfer, and will robot golfers ever miscalculate the wind speed or direction or the slope of the green when they put or which club to use. I think not. I think they’ll be able to shoot a hole-in-one every time. So they won’t do any putting, but they might put sometimes for fun, if they are able to have fun.

My big beautiful bicycling

I think clearly this project of the great cycle challenge needs to be about the cause and the kids who need what the Children’s Cancer Research Fund does for them. And yet I also see this blog as a great opportunity for me to talk about myself! I have felt a little embarrassed sometimes when people praise me for doing the cycling challenge. Because in many ways it is very easy for me. I ride my bike anyway and I like having a good reason to ride some more. Fall is a beautiful time of year in Boise Idaho and it’s wonderful to ride along the river early in the morning. It gets my day off to a great start. So I’ve thought to myself, shouldn’t this challenge actually be a challenge? Well, it actually is a bit of a challenge to ride 300 miles in a month. I do have to go on rides at the expense of other things I do with my time. I do go on rides during the Challenge when I don’t feel like going. And I decided this year while I’m on my rides I will intentionally spend time imagining what it’s like to be a child with cancer, or a parent of a child with cancer. This simple mental task has added a lot of meaning to the rides. Additionally, when my nose was running nonstop this morning and I felt like whining about it, I suddenly thought about what it would be like to live in Gaza right now or to be a family member of a hostage, and then I felt quite happy to be riding my bike along the river with snot dripping out of my nose, knowing before too long I’d be blowing my nose and making coffee in the comfort of my home. So during this month I’m going to read the stories about kids with cancer that I get in emails from the Great Cycle Challenge, and that you can read on their website, and I’m going to think about them and their experiences while I ride, in between enjoying the scenery. I took the photo above on my ride this morning.