Back in My Day, It Ain’t Over

In last month's MMM column, "Back in My Day,' I wrote, “Not only can you not go back, you can’t even go where we went.” Turns out, I was wrong. On the way to Valentine, Nebraska I discovered that some of those old unmaintained roads still exist in my old home state. I even took a picture of one. I even hiked up that road a ways to discover that it quickly turned into deep, soft sand that would have put me and my V-Strom down as quickly as Raylan Givens takes out a Chicago mobster (look it up). On the other hand, if I'd have been there with my WR? I'd be on it fast and hard. It was a beautiful road, just not for a road bike.

The good news is that any kid with a dirt bike and a Nebraska home address can still have the kind of fun and make the discoveries I did 40 years ago. I love that. It has been years since I’ve seen a “Minimum Maintenance Road” sign and it makes me feel good (and a little younger) to know there are still some left.