The Honda

I tend to give a lot of love to the Surly on this blog, but yesterday afternoon driving back from the ranch in the middle of a mudstorm (similar to a rainstorm, but consisting entirely of blown mud), I thought I should give a shout out to the Honda. The Honda came brand new from Courtesy Honda in Reno in the fall of 1996. She was bought on five-year loan and paid off in three. She now has 250,000 miles with no major problems (knock on wood). She's moved back and forth across the country unsupported twice (from Eugene to New York City, to Richmond, and back to Reno; from Reno to Miami and Miami to Reno with many detours through Arizona and New Mexico), had her keys locked in her in Great Basin National Park, crossed the Black Rock and camped on the playa. She's driven too many gravel roads to count. She's been warned to escape "now" in the late fall in Hells Canyon and has quietly slept parked on Long Island, in Miami, and at the ranch for months at a time. She only has one half-working back door and she lost her bike rack due to my neglect, but she always carries us where we want or need to go. She is rarely cleaned and is decorated with bits of rock and wood from around the country and world. She doesn't demand attention, and would likely be embarrassed by it, but she is the epitome of substance over flash.