Seventeen is the low gear-inch measurement that Bruce Gordon (no relation) advocated for on touring bikes. Every turn of your crank moves the rubber of your tire 17 inches forward.

Seventeen gear inches will get you up over mountains while carrying everything you need in the world for days; all by your own power. It’s a slow speed, but facilitates the amazing experiences you can have on a bicycle.

It kinda sounds a little StarTrek-y as well. Ten Forward was where the Next Generation Enterprise crew would hang out and socialize. Mostly naming happenstance here, but a fun one.

These are my bike focused stories, with some possible bleeding over to slower car travel as well.