Last night I was in a bad mood so I figured I would combine two things I love. Ice cream, and sandwiches. As we all know you cant buy just one from the grocery store so I bought a pack of 12. Knowing that 12 would make me sick I was the generous Canadian and walked around the super 8 handing them out. The people were so shocked that someone was being kind that it was invigorating for me. When I told them I was from Canada they went “aaaa that makes sense”.
Today I started riding with a positive mindset I figured my luck could not get any worse. Well as with many things I was wrong. I set out the door and encountered a 12mph crosswind that pumbled me all day. Because it was coming from the west when I turned northwest it was just ruthless. Hour after hour of grinding. It really messes with your mind and body because you are putting out so much extra effort.
By snack time I was beyond drained. I had my regular snack and went back on the road not excited for the rest of the ride. Of course adding to this I already had one flat that had no explanation. At 11 am I was done I had decided that Tampa was going to be the rest stop.
I was miserable. Adding to what was already going wrong I kept passing waste transfer sites, and porn shops. Which I got to thinking about. The two times that the word adult is used in society is in adult shops, and adult communities (old folks home). It makes me wonder about the transition into adulthood.
I passed Tampa and it was bad news. Everywhere I went was a shady area that I did not want to stop in. So I pressed on to Lutz for lunch and a place to rest. At lunch I met a few nice people and I felt the day was turning around. Then I got to my bike and another damn flat. I wasn’t changing it, it still had some pressure and I was gunna ride it to the motel that should have been 5 miles away.
Well the motel was not there and the next one 5 miles away did not take guests. The one after that was more of the same news. At that point I was past the breaking point mentally and physically. The fun police had officially shown up on my doorstep.
I did not want to make the 36-mile gap to Brooksville today but it ended up happening and rounded out another gruelling day on the bike where all my thoughts were focused on why the heck I am doing this. Again the km’s don’t complete themselves and I have the strength to continue so that’s what I am going to do.
I hope my luck is starting to turn around because when I changed the flat front again I finally noticed on piece of metal less then half an mm thick that had been causing me my headaches. After pulling this out and popping a new tube in I feel as if that was a sign from the bike gods. They have put me threw hell now I hope I can just ride for a few days. Just 2 days would make me happy then the problems can start again I just need to sort out my head and the only way I know how to do that is by riding a bike. If the bike is being a problem it just amplifies things by about 1000%
Trip Distance: 195km (was supposed to be 120km max)
Ride Time: 9:13hr
Avg. Speed: 21.25km/h (I do not know how I pulled that off with the wind)
Total Distance: 12328km
Total Ride Time: Brooksville, Florida
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