GET TETHERED!

     I like words.  This one crossed my mind as I tethered my Garmin to the handle bars of my bike.  It is, now, a standard routine so why would I even think about the word.  Well, the bike was on the trainer in the kitchen.  The chances of it becoming dislodged from the holder were slim to none.  If you look up the etymology of tether you get no definitive answer, maybe Norse, maybe Germanic.  But it means, as a verb, to fasten something, or, as a noun, the rope or chain itself.  Mostly it referred to animals.
     Old people hate change.  The older you get the more you stick to the "good old days."  Learning new things really is difficult so it is easier not to.  But I digress.  Two Garmins, and maybe ten years, back, I was bombing down Great Hills Trail toward 360.  This is a rough street and toward the bottom, approximately 26 mph, my computer jumped off and hit the pavement.  It was never the same, even though I sent it to Garmin for repair (don't get me started on that).  So I purchased a new Garmin 500.  Several years later I upgraded to the 520.  I still have, and occasionally use, the 500.
     The new 520 came with this little wristband-type cord.  I put it aside, shrugged my shoulders, and started reading the instruction manual.  Ah, it was the tether.  At approximately the same time, my friend Todd was in discussion with others and opined that he always tethered his computer to his bike.  The light bulb finally went off.  If your computer jumps out of its holder, the tether will keep it from hitting the ground.  I went back and read the instructions on how to attach the cord to the computer and have been using the tether ever since.
     Speaking of things jumping off your bike, several years ago I posted a fun clip of my GoPro coming loose and hitting the asphalt as I descended a mountain (See July 21, 2017).  In that case, it was the mount that broke off.  Another aside: to get the camera facing forward you need to cobble several pieces of plastic accessories.  The part attached to the bike stayed put, it was the second part that broke.  The GoPro itself was unharmed.  I got a new mount, but apparently didn't learn much from the previous experience and on a Velo View ride to Johnson City it happened again.  This time I was oblivious to its departure and was several miles down the road before noticing.  No use going back to try to find it.  Personally, I believe the mount design is faulty.  In any case, I now have a Fly6 on the back of my bike, velcro, and nothing facing forward.