Memorable Stuff I Read This Week

Aging may change the way we ride, but it doesn’t have to mean giving up on goals or the pursuit of joy and endorphins. In fact, many cyclists who ride into their 50s, 60s, and 70s report that in some ways the experience is better than it was in their younger years. Without the obligation to shuttle kids to sporting events, or after retiring from work, older cyclists have more freedom and time to ride. The 2017 National Household Travel Survey found that cyclists over 50 ride more often for fitness and recreation than their younger counterparts.

— Molly Hurford / “8 Powerful Tips to Ride Strong at 50+ From Senior Cyclists Who Are Crushing Their Goals” / Bicycling

Inside me, bones inflating,
kites crowding a florid dome.

In answer to a question, the poet said
I write to return opacity to the glassbright world.

— Sarah Ghazal Ali / “Künstlerroman”

If we lose the stamina for real conversation, if we embrace our narcissism and accept language as a flat surface, then not only do we grant politicians and other advertisers the right to say anything (I think we’re already here, at this extreme form of sophistry where even words underpinned by actions can be taken as somehow not literal), but we risk a slower and total form of alienation. Imperfect though it is, language is our connective tissue. 

— Matt Greene / “On the Rise of ChatGPT and the Industrialization of the Post-Meaning World” / Lithub

Often one thinks the urn should have more bones
Than skeletons provide for speedy dust,
The urn gets hollow, cobwebs brittle as stones
Weave to the funeral shell a frivolous rust.

— Allen Tate / “Mr. Pope”

Newly discovered immune cells called ‘ruptoblasts’ explode when triggered, ejecting toxic chemicals that make quick work of surrounding cells. This process, dubbed ruptosis, seems to be a new form of cell death that differs considerably from other known types, say researchers. The team discovered the cell type while studying Schmidtea mediterranea, a species of flatworm with extraordinary regenerative capabilities. In vitro, ruptosis of a single cell killed as many as 70 surrounding cells without discrimination — bacterial, flatworm and human cells all fell victim to the blast.

— Flora Graham / “New immune cells go out with a bang” / Nature

In heat,
things expand. So do minutes.
Fire swallows trees, entire forests.
At some point, there won’t be anything
left to burn. Fire
has no future. What a relief
for the fire.

— Selma Asotić / “Landscape with footprints in

The U.S. just had its worst year for international tourism since the pandemic and it wasn’t even close. While the rest of the world broke records in 2025, America was the only country out of 184 to see a drop in foreign visitor spending.

Four million fewer tourists came here and eight billion dollars gone. We were the only major destination in the world moving in the wrong direction.

— Alt National Park Service / Facebook post

What I’m Listening To:

What’s the matter with me?
It ain’t like I can breathe
When the storm clouds
Calm down then
I’m gonna scream

— Poliça / “The Matter”

in this (my) neighborhood pt. 141 

Day 37:
Start: Brunswick, ME
Finish: Falmouth, ME
Miles: 21.3

Zero day on Sunday. I start north for the last 217 miles from Brunswick to Lubec, ME on Monday.