016 An old Model T

October 9, 2008 – Thursday

Redmond, OR

Biking is really quite enjoyable.  Warm, sunny days are perfect for getting in a nice long ride.  Now, for a little something different, you can choose to be a bit more ridiculous about it and get in a bike ride whenever you want, despite the conditions…  This is what my Dad & brother and I did yesterday, in our ride to Prineville and back.  Prineville is only about 10 minutes away from the ranch so it is a short ride there.  When the weather is less than desirable, though, it seems much longer than it really is.  The day was cold and it looked like there were storms ready to collide right over the whole area.  Of course, we still went.  It was cold and I hadn’t gotten new gloves yet so I just about froze my fingers off completely, again.  Despite how the weather appeared, we managed to escape most of the really bad conditions.  After we had some coffee and Heath & Dad had a sundae from Dairy Queen, the rain started.  Luckily it wasn’t coming down too hard, but it was still coming down.  And did I mention that it was cold?  We made it back alright, despite the rain, and just in time for dinner which really helped to warm us up.

Last night, it snowed.  Yes, it snowed.  It’s only October 9th and I’m in Oregon and it snowed.  I was none so happy about that, as it's also a large part of why I'm not in Minnesota right now... To escape the snow...

Today, luckily, the snow from last night disappeared though it was still quite cold and winter jackets were necessary.  First things first, we all helped out with polishing up the Model T from 1916 so that it looked loved & cared for.  Many people probably don't know, but I totally have a thing for old cars.  It took a while to crank it up and get it running, but after a while it sputtered to life!  The headlights on the old car work like a lantern, covered by glass and lit with fire, they’re mostly for other people to see the car coming toward you in the dark; not for lighting up the road or anything else.  
My Uncle Lyle bought the Model T with the ranch and once a year the man who worked on it in his younger years visits the car again.  This was the day.  Living in Portland, his daughter comes to get him once a year so that he can spend some time with the car.  Funny, he’s not coming to see his daughter, but his car instead.  His cars and his work were his life, his passion.  As soon as the car was out, ready for him to have a ride and see it, he moved quite quickly.  Did I mention that he’s 96 years old?  My Uncle helped him into the car, they took it for a spin, then sat in it for quite some time while we all listened to him tell stories of the old car, learning quite a bit more about it.  Quite a fascinating experience over all!

Later that evening, after going for yet another freezing cold ride – you would have thought that by now I had learned my lesson – we made it back to have dinner and then finish up the night with a couple of movies, Hot Rod & RV.  They were both pretty funny and it was a great end to the day.