It took me more than 30 minutes to get the bike back onto the road - about 20 feet down the hill. Each time I moved, or even when I didn't, my tires made a rut in the mud, making it impossible to move by foot. The bike fortunately started easily, and I tighened up some bolts on both the battery and the shifter. I had no battery problems today, and as the day went on, the shifter started getting smoother as well. I'm also $3.60 within my budget. That's good news.
The bad news is that it was rather chilly in the morning, and at about noon it started to rain, not to stop even now at 6:00. I had my new GoreTex pants on, and my rain liner in my jacket, so most of my body stayed dry. My gloves got soaked though, and I had to ride the last hour with bare hands and the grip heaters on high, burning my knuckles and freezing my fingers. Next time I'm at a grocery store I'm picking up some rubber kitchen gloves for these situations. Nothing is soaked, but the edges of my sheepskin buttpad are wet and smell like a wet dog. The edges of my fleece coat are also wet - this would be fine, but these are the 2 items that make my pillow! Now I have to lay my head on a cold squishy dog! Hey, it wouldn't be far off from Django back home.
While eating some food and drying off, I got to talk to some people who were asking about the trip - this is something I haven't really done yet, and it seems to legitimize some things in my head. On my last trip this summer, Amber was there, and she took care of most of the communication stuff, so it's a bit unnatural and tough for me to hold up conversations with random people on the road.
Tonight I'm camping free and legal, at a no-fee public campground, something unheard of in the Northeast or Canada. It's towards the end of the Natchez Trace Parkway, a nicely maintained but slightly monotonous 2 lane road with no intersections or trucks.
Things are looking up a bit today, but I still have some things undone, mainly getting my apartment rented. For the most part I'm very optimistic and excited about leaving the country in a couple days. It's always a significant weight off my shoulders when I cross a border. Now I can change the outgoing voicemail message on my phone to say I'm out of the country, and people will leave me alone.
Now that it's dark and I'm finishing this log, it stopped raining. If it had stopped an hour ago I would have cooked dinner. Damn.
The bad news is that it was rather chilly in the morning, and at about noon it started to rain, not to stop even now at 6:00. I had my new GoreTex pants on, and my rain liner in my jacket, so most of my body stayed dry. My gloves got soaked though, and I had to ride the last hour with bare hands and the grip heaters on high, burning my knuckles and freezing my fingers. Next time I'm at a grocery store I'm picking up some rubber kitchen gloves for these situations. Nothing is soaked, but the edges of my sheepskin buttpad are wet and smell like a wet dog. The edges of my fleece coat are also wet - this would be fine, but these are the 2 items that make my pillow! Now I have to lay my head on a cold squishy dog! Hey, it wouldn't be far off from Django back home.
While eating some food and drying off, I got to talk to some people who were asking about the trip - this is something I haven't really done yet, and it seems to legitimize some things in my head. On my last trip this summer, Amber was there, and she took care of most of the communication stuff, so it's a bit unnatural and tough for me to hold up conversations with random people on the road.
Tonight I'm camping free and legal, at a no-fee public campground, something unheard of in the Northeast or Canada. It's towards the end of the Natchez Trace Parkway, a nicely maintained but slightly monotonous 2 lane road with no intersections or trucks.
Things are looking up a bit today, but I still have some things undone, mainly getting my apartment rented. For the most part I'm very optimistic and excited about leaving the country in a couple days. It's always a significant weight off my shoulders when I cross a border. Now I can change the outgoing voicemail message on my phone to say I'm out of the country, and people will leave me alone.
Now that it's dark and I'm finishing this log, it stopped raining. If it had stopped an hour ago I would have cooked dinner. Damn.
Campground critters - no, I didn't try to pee on them.
That isn't supposed to be a body of water there.
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