Thursday, December 11, 2008

Stylishly sidelined in Salem

Didn't quite get the early start I was hoping to get for the big ride today; "complications" kept me off the road until 11:30.

I was passing through Albany when it became clear I would have to choose between riding the rest of the way by moonlight, sleeping under a bridge or making some phone calls.

My mother found me a bed at her co-worker's house in Salem. It's warm and has a shower and Wi-Fi. It would have been super-hardcore to ride by the light of the full moon, but I could have been super-roadkill, too.

As for sleeping under a bridge, I figure I'll have plenty of other opportunities to try that in the future, and there's no need to try too many new things at once. I'm already undertaking a ride four times as long as any other I've done; better to savor one adventure at a time.

Although the computer on Martin's bike tells me I averaged 13.9 miles per hour, the old "d=r*t" formula tells me I barely broke nine (about 75 miles in eight hours). Why? I kept stopping to use the "bathroom" or take a picture.

Oh well. A nice ride tomorrow morning, and the whole afternoon to goof around P-town before the festival.

Next time, I'll pack a helmet cam and a catheter. Then maybe I'll make the one-day century club.

1 comment:

  1. I heard that you were a charming guest! As they say in Eire, "may the wind be at your back"

    Cynthia T.

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