Whaddya mean, there's no food in this town?!

I woke up exhausted from sleeping practically on the train tracks last night. I was struck by how many birds and frogs I could hear living right next to them. Those guys are better at adapting than I, I think.

It was a mostly uneventful day of riding. Pretty windy at times, adequate shoulder most of the time, kinda cloudy but sunny enough to charge my phone and my iPod. I had what seemed to me to be a pretty productive day, and reached the next park where I intended to camp. I rode around it and got spooked. There were plenty of tents and trailers, all pretty seedy looking, but I didn't see a single human. I also couldn't find the alleged self-service pay station. I decided to ride a little further into the adjacent town, grab some food, ask around about the park, and maybe check out the ever-present RV park. The further I rode, the more spooked I got. I didn't see any people (although it was kinda dinner time) and there was no where to buy food. I was really starting to worry, because, although I have enough food with me to last through tomorrow, at least, I had seen a sign out on 14 that said "no gas next 82 miles." That made me wonder if there was anything. There were several towns on my map, but I was starting to rethink my planned route. I found the trailer park, which also had a bit of a ghost town feel, at first, but there were a few people around, and it was hugely better than the park. No food, though. Did I mention that through this entire experience, the wind was blowing super hard, only adding to the ghost town effect? Anywho, as I was dithering around the pay station, trying to decide if I really needed to pay full price for the campsite even though I was just a lone biker, the camp host and her friend appeared. Both were quite sweet, and when they heard I was camping alone, the camp host insisted that she would feel better if I set up next to her trailer, even though she swore the park was safe. She also knocked $5 off the price. I gladly accepted, then asked about food. She said there was a store in the next town on my proposed route, but she wasn't sure if they were open on Sunday. However, she had lots of food, and would be able to fix me up with something. What a dear!

I set up my tent in the freakishly strong wind, then called my Google map-guru, Jackie, to discuss my route. She wasn't able to find a store in the next town, but gave me the number for a bar and grill just outside town, and she was also able to find a store in the next town after that. Sounds promising... I called the bar and asked about the store, which both exists and is open Sundays, so it looks like my route is still good.

Relieved, I went to take a-- what's this? FREE hot shower? What kind of Shangri-La have I stumbled upon?! I take my time and enjoy it, because I suspect it's the last one I'll see for a while.

There are a couple of reasons I'm not giving my mileage on the trip. The first is vanity. I didn't take the time to get in shape before the trip, so part of me wishes I was going further. Also, the distance is so terrain- and weather-dependant, I have huge ranges in how far I go, even though I spend about the same amount of time and energy riding each day. The biggest reason, though, is that for safety's sake I am trying to be somewhat vague about my location, even though you could probably figure it out if you tried hard enough. The map location lags behind my actual location. Rest assured that I am tracking everything in a big dorky Excel file, which I will be able to show to those I visit, and will probably post on this blog at trip's end.

And one last thing, even though this is already a long post. I like that Dad mentioned community in his comment on the previous post. I was just talking to Mom today about how I had finally been feeling like I was part of a community where I lived and worked, but had left it. I told her that this blog made me feel as though I was still connected to a community. So thanks for that, all!

And good night!