Day 34

I had lots of trouble sleeping last night. Just before bed I saw the maps on my website stopped working. Was it something I did? Something I didn’t do? I looked for a long time, I sent out help requests, I double checked what I did before… Finally it was too late to be up so I tried to go to sleep unsatisfied… not my best sleeping time. 

In the morning we headed to the lobby for breakfast. Waffle machine! Next to the toaster they had individual packets of jellies, peanut butter, and cheese wiz. I questioned who would put cheese wiz on breakfast breads? The guy sitting next to us of course. I think they thought I was inthralled with their conversation about upright verse grand pianos, really I just couldn’t stop watching the cheese wiz being spread thickly on toast. It is kind of fun to take the same basic breakfast and really use the slight differences to spice up your breakfast so you don’t feel like you’re eating the same exact breakfast everyday. However I did not think about using the cheese wiz spread… maybe a few more months.

As we headed back to our room to finish getting ready we saw it started to rain. I knew today was going to be more miles then the last two days. I also could now see it was going to be raining. I quickly came to “know” that today would suck. 

When we exited the room there were two guys hanging out in the parking lot. They chatted with us about what we’re doing and how nuts we are. We said our good byes and headed to the lobby to check out. In the lobby one of the people working behind the front desk asked where we were going. After I told her, she said “your nuts!” 

I felt like all these people were just shouting what my brain was saying… today is going to suck.

We headed through a few tuns and quickly made our way back to Route 1. 

We quickly made our way out of town and right into the wind. And the wind blew, and blew. 

I’m a big believer in, ‘Any day above ground, is a good one.’ 

And I mean; what kid, when asked, ‘when you grow up would you want to ride bikes with your buddy all day?’ How many no’s would you get. I am living the dream! A grown up kid riding his bike all day long with his buddy! 

And then the wind blew. I don’t want to just complain. But today, I had no patience for it. Ten minutes into our day I was over it. Just 75 miles left to go. 

We rode single file when we had to, we rode side by side when we could. We chatted for a while but at some point, neither of us wanted to yell any more, neither of us wanted to ask ‘what’ any more. We rode in silence for a while, in the racket of the howling wind. 

Finally there was a gas station. And by finally I mean only about 35 miles in to our ride. We talked about how neither of us really needed to stop, but both of us wanted to. Just a moment or two of relative quite. When we walked in there was an ice cream or something machine loudly being worked on. I was not thrilled, but just then it stopped. Sweet silence. 

Jerry went to use the restroom. When he came out as I was heading in, he gave me the warning that there was a kid in there. I went in expecting that there would be a child just outside the stall waiting for his dad. However, when I opened the door I was face to face with a man similar to my age. I used the urinal while questioning how bad he had to use the toilet that he’s gonna stand in this little bathroom waiting his turn. After I stepped outside Jerry clarified he that he thought the man was waiting while his kid was using the toilet. As we stood outside talking about how windy it was and what the rest of the day will be like, a man walked out to a truck in the parking lot. Just before we left we saw the guy who was waiting for the toilet head out to the parking lot. We paused to see if this could be really happening. Yes, the two guys who are in a truck together for how many hours a day also went to the bathroom together. 

More fucking wind! 

We rode about 20 more miles and found a second gas station. We decided to stop again. As we pulled in we saw two touring bike riders. We parked our bikes and walked over to chat. They were of course heading east. They told us about the joys of having a tail wind… must be nice! It was nice to hear some information about where we’re heading and what we might face. This was the longest conversation we’ve had with other cyclists. Usually we just wave from across the street (heading different directions). They were very nice and extremely helpful. When they pulled away we saw how fast and light they were riding. I’m not sure if they were rode bikes but they were skinner they 1.5” wheels, and just some small rolled up bags. Comparing and contrasting my fully loaded bike with their light and fast rode like bikes, I felt less bad about our miles per day being so much less then theirs. 

Back to the wind… I mean road. Pushing and pushing I have never asked for the wind to stop more. We tried talking again. We talked about the road always having something… Too hot, too cold, bad shoulder, too much wind, rain. There is always something. In someways you want something to fight against other then your own fatigue, and changing problems give you something to keep you on your toes. 

When we left it was going to rain. By the end of the day I thought of a Philippe Petit story I had heard. Planning to film a tight rope walk across 7^th Ave, Philippe Petit and film crew had to wait for the rain. Just when they were about have to stop a huge gust of wind came and the rain stopped. Philippe Petit said they should film right now. They asked if he was sure because of the wind. He said, “The wind is the enemy of the rain.”  So we were dry today, riding with the enemy of the rain. 

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MikeDiazTheFirst

Mike was born in Queen, New York to a blue collar family. An avid self educator, artist, and traveler he’s traveled around the globe three times while immersing himself in the culture of 48 different countries and counting.  Read about his journeys and musings here.

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