Trip 2.12

First morning on the new wheels. Maybe I was expecting more. Maybe I'm hypersensitive to the feel of my bike. Whatever the reason, the bike felt very heavy. I was spending most of the first ten miles in my lowest gear, and the climbs were nothing like I had seen in Mass. Needless to say, it made me nervous. There are still a lot of miles to go, and I have to be able to spin pretty fast in order to sustain my effort through the day.

As if to prove to me that I know less and less the older I get, within the next 10 miles I was not only far out of my lowest gear, but I actually shifted my front derailleur to the larger ring, something I haven't done in a week. The new wheels run true and will not require any extra effort on my part.

Quick Quiz:
What is so special about the following photo that I actually slammed on my brakes to make sure I didn't miss it?



I had a scare today. I stopped at a convenient store. A midget asked me if I was carrying any weapons. That wasn't the scary part. A couple of miles after I left the store I looked down to check my GPS, and it was gone.

My Garmin was a last-minute purchase before I left. It has become indispensable to me. Compared to the trip in 2007, I never stay on the same road for an entire day. I'm naturally horrible with directions, and I need all the help I can get. The iPhone has GPS, but it can't always load the map, so I'm just a blue dot on a gray grid. No help.

I rode back the couple of miles to the convenience store scanning the shoulder. Nothing. I asked at the store. Nope. I started to plan to keep my eyes open for an upcoming Walmart. I would have to bite the bullet and buy another.

I headed south once again. I stopped twice to check some mangled pieces of black plastic. It wouldn't have surprised me if a few cars had gotten to it before me. And then...





Huge relief. It still worked. I got the electrical tape out. It wasn't going to escape me again.


I rode and rode. Still a lot of hills heading south through Pennsylvania. A slight tailwind helped me rack up a lot of miles, almost 95 for the day.

Flat tomorrow? Maybe?

Location:Airport Rd,Elkton,United States