Still just biking

9/13/17 - 9/17/17

I left Lansing and rode on towards a friends in Ann arbor. I was constantly trying to race to get there in time. Nothing much memorable happened. I rode some bad roads, some bad trails, some good roads, and some good trails. Only one thing really stands out. I was pushing up a hill when a bug flew across my left glasses lens and under my right one. Suddenly it was in my eye. So I blinked and pulled off the road rubbing my eye. I couldn’t get it out. After 15 minutes I gave up and kept riding. I could feel it under my eyelid though. And it was moving around. It would be in the outside corner then it would twitch its way under the upper eyelid and over to the inside corner of my eye. I just couldn’t get it out from under the eyelid. I took photos to try and see it but couldn’t make anything out through my tears. I rode on hoping I could cry it out. It didn’t work. By this point I was stopping every couple minutes to try and dislodge it again. No luck. And this wasn’t some flea sized gnat, no this was a big guy. About the size of a mosquito but much more compact, less leggy. Anyway, after about an hour I realized that I had gotten it out. I hadn’t noticed because it must have left behind a wing or leg or something that kept irritating my eye, but suddenly it just wasn't there anymore. This was a massive relief. Later I discovered that one of my poor quality photos of my eye actually had captured the dot that is the insect intruder. So if you don’t like eyes don’t look at the picture.

The night before I had slept pretty badly and I could feel the exhaustion all throughout the day. Due to this fatigue and the eye conundrum I started to worry about reaching my friend in time. I had to get to Jayleen's ultimate practice before it ended so she could drive me the final 10 miles to her home, and I really didn’t want end up biking those if I was late. My solution was to stop at a gas station and buy a bunch of junk. I got a highly caffeinated soda to scare away the exhaustion (not sure if that’s how caffeine works because I never drink it), a cold plastic wrapped sandwich loaded with 5 different mystery meats for the protein or whatever, and a massive sugary donut to give me a short burst of energy until the protein kicked in. I want to add, once again, I’m really not sure if that’s how it all works, but at least that’s how placebo works. Anyways I got there with plenty of time after blasting through the last 20 miles faster than I ever had.

I got to meet Jayleen’s friends and reminisce about my ultimate frisbee playing days. Then I spent a lovely evening eating delicious tacos at her home and chatting. It was a real treat and her family was so gracious. I was given a bag of trail mix with peanut butter cups in it! I even did laundry again. Thank you so much! I went to bed with a full stomach on the tallest air mattress ever still laughing from the conversations we'd had.

Jayleen drove me to her school the next day saving me 10 miles. Then I rode off headed south. I crossed into Ohio. Then I went east. It wasn’t the most memorable day except for the second lunch I decided I needed along the way.

That night, however, was very memorable.

As I rolled into camp I was told by two guys in a golf cart that I should just set up anywhere open and the owner would be in later. It would cost $5 dollars. A while later a woman with a baby in a stroller called to me from the road saying she could help me with the campsite registration. She charged me $20 because, as I later found out, she was new and didn’t know the pricing. So that was unfortunate. I stopped by two more golf carts and chatted with the folks there that had offered me bug spray. I declined, as there were no showers so I didn’t want to cover myself in chemicals. The folks told me how friendly the campsite was and how everyone knew each other (it was mostly residential camping) and was one big happy family. I went back to camp then proceeded to strip to my boxers and try and rinse the sweat off at my foot-high spigot with mixed results.

I started to eat my pesto. A golf cart screeched off the road and pulled into my campsite. The 60 year old driving started blessing me. His daughter next to him told me not to listen to him. The guy kept calling stuff to me in a friendly way and then “Do you want to go for a ride?” After a very long pause where I questioned everything I’ve been taught about strangers, I agreed. They plopped me down on a pillow on the hood of the cart facing backwards and away we went.

It quickly became apparent that the guy was drunk. Although it was difficult to tell where the alcohol ended and his wild personality began. He was quite vulgar and shameless, to an extent where I thought I was dreaming and couldn’t believe the world I had fallen into. Whenever he spoke he yelled and banged his fist on any near by surface to emphasize his point. And every five minutes he would tell me “I'm the king!!!!” and as an afterthought “and she (his adult daughter) will be the next king!!!” It sounds like a bad situation, but honestly it was great. I started crying I was laughing so hard. Just being around people after being alone so long was a blast.

They drove me past my camp so I could finish my pesto. Which meant I sat in the cart trying not to spill greasy pasta out of my pot and onto myself as we zipped around turns. Then they gave me dish soap and actually brought me back so I could clean up. An hour later as I was about to head in, the golf cart came back. Instead of a loud inappropriate intoxicated driver there was another woman with the daughter. Seeing the guy was gone I willingly climbed aboard with promises of apple crisp. I still have no clue how such a delicious apple crisp can be made in a camper microwave.

This time we went to another campsite and “The King” as well as two of his much more respectable friends were there. It was much more calm this time as they kept him in line. I had a delightful time hearing all about the campsite gossip. I honestly don’t remember what else we talked about except that it was all very surface level chit chat but somehow still hilarious. It was an otherworldly night being welcomed into the odd community after so much solitude and it's a night I won’t easily forget.

The next day found me awake earlier than ever before surfing on very little sleep. I had 60 miles to push to reach Oberlin college where I hoped to surprise my dear friend Anna with a visit. I didn’t have much time as I had to be punctual in order for it to work. I forced myself to move quickly and started grinding down the path out of camp.

I somehow was able to focus on my fatigue and not the riding and just stay in the saddle until I was there. It was surprisingly painless as the lack of sleep kept me in an almost meditative state just focused on the road. Not the most fun way to ride but it worked. I got to town and even had time for a late lunch.

The surprise went well and I was able to spent the next two days hanging in Anna’s dorm and chilling on campus. I gorged myself at the all-you-can-eat cafeterias claiming I needed to store up calories to help hit that 5000 calorie goal on my future riding days. Anna of course had classes so I got to spend a lot of frustrating hours trying to actually start this blog. Up until that point I couldn’t launch it for fear of ruining the surprise I had planned. Which is probably the best procrastination excuse I’ve ever had. I was about to publish my blog when I realized I couldn’t include photos and had to start the whole process over again with a new platform. Oops! I was successful my second attempt and hopefully I will get caught up one of these days. Over all I had a

really great time relaxing on my first rest days after an 11-day biking streak. It was good to be in familiar company and able to settle down for a second and meet new people and make new friends. I was able to tag along with Anna’s neighbor Emory when she was busy so I was never really bored. Thanks for accommodating me Emory! It was a great way to rest after so much riding.