I usually start my day off with my jacket on until I warm up. Today that was not needed because as soon as I got out the door at 6 am it was already warm. To the point that on the first of many hills I was already sweating.
Thinking back to yesterday I was smarter with my hydration. Instead of cramming once I was thirsty I drank consistently.
It was hard to focus on anything else except the heat. When I was not thinking about how lubricated my skin was I was thinking about scaling back my effort level so that I did not sweat any more.
Trying to distract myself I plugged in my single ear bud. This did not help much because I was only hearing half the song. In the case of the temptations song papa was a rolling stone I only heard the back up singer and I was forced to fill in as lead. It was at that moment I realized my singing voice is like that of an elderly cat throwing up a hairball after eating some tuna. If you have never heard that before just ask me to sing next time you see me.
Before lunch I decided to bite the bullet and get some new headphones at radio shack. Now radio shack has ties with trek bikes. At first I did not realize why trek partnered with radio shack because I always though of radio shack as that crummy store in the bottom of our local mall that no one went into. Now that I am in the states I realize why this bond formed. They treated me very well, gave me good information, and the great quality product where presented in a way that was very easy to shop. Those are three things that trek really focuses on as a company.
Speaking of bikes I was thinking about a few amazing ideas for the past few days. The first is of my dream to own a U.S. postal truck. It would make the perfect support truck. I mean it has lots of space for its small size, good gas mileage, and it has shelves in it already for spare parts or hooks to hang bikes. Now you are asking yourself “a plain white us postal truck”? No! Lower it 1 or 2 inches, do a plus 1 on the wheels and tires with some simple steel wheels with dog dish hubcaps. The truck itself would be flat black with green accent pieces and green steel wheels. The other mod would be take the ugly square headlights out and put in some headlights off a vw bus or something that has large round headlights.
That aside my other idea is actually a serious one. Through my trip I have run into a bunch of other bike tourists. Most of which bought old road bikes and converted them over to touring bikes. Now the usual price of this is around $500 and at the end of it you are left with a bike you will never touch again, or you have thrown out because it has caused so many flats or had to many broken parts. What I was thinking was start about rentals. Everyone rents cruisers for the seawall but not one store offers a rental-touring bike. Think about it you rent it out for lets say $100 a month plus parts. Most tour for 2 months so boom you are set. Touring bikes don’t change for year so your rental bikes never get outdated you just have to make sure that they are kept up to snuff.
Back to the riding today. After lunch I felt like Popeye because I ate a whole lot of beans for lunch. That was un till I stepped outside and was hit by a wave of heat. I have never experienced a wave of heat before in this manner. It was a gross feeling that made me want to pedal more because at least I would keep the warm air moving.
After 12 litres of water I was in Baltimore. I don’t know how I do this but somehow in every big city I manage to go through the projects. Baltimore was no exception. In fact it was the worst I have seen yet. In one case an entire city block of building was boarded up. It was a very moving thing actually. I can’t explain what feelings were I could simply say it was a picturesque moment. The projects are also a thrill because there is always crazy stuff going on. In today’s case I saw a guy pulling a huge wheelie down the highway fallowed by a kids playing a game of basketball in the middle of the road with no hoop.
By this point it was 5pm and I was not willing to risk my bike in the backyard of a sketch home. So I stopped to ask an officer about camping and again I get laughed at and told that there is nothing for about 50miles. So again I was forced to check into a sketch motel. I don’t like this. I like tent. I like meeting new people. Most of all I like living the simple life. I have grown to enjoy natural light not one that flick on.
Trip Distance: 168km
Ride Time: 8:54hr
Avg. Speed: 18.86km/h
Total Distance: 9755km
Total Ride Time: 456hr
Destination: Baltimore, Mayfield
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Do you realize that you have travelled almost 10,000 klms!!! My butt is sore just thinking about that!
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