Sunday, September 21, 2008

Massachusetts tried to keep me for another night

But I escaped.

Sunday, 21 September: I had more navigation problems this morning trying to reach a main road. I figured out what must be happening. The road I'm on forks off in a non-obvious way, and looks like a lesser road, so I stay on the "main" looking road, and suddenly I'm off track. This has happened multiple times. On one of these excursions, I got stuck on the wrong side of the train tracks, waiting for a very slow, very long train. Just when the end was in sight, the train stopped. Then it reversed. Slowly. When the end was once again in sight, it stopped again. It was such a cruel joke, but after a minute or two, it moved again, still in reverse, so I was on my way. Whew.

Flat tire in the afternoon. In the new tire. It appears that those Tuffy strips I bought in lieu of thorn resistant tubes are only good for making tire changes take longer, and making me crankier.

All of this misnavigation and tire changing slowed me down enough that I once again could not make it to my intended destination before dark. I did make it out of Massachusetts, however, and into lovely Rhode Island. Once again, there was no welcoming sign, so I have no proof tat I am here. I'm in a pretty, well-treed part of the state, where the shoulders are wide and smooth. Ah. I found a piece of undeveloped property for sale in a sort of commercial area outside of a town, so I pushed my bike past the garbage people had dumped there and set up camp. If I ignore the trash, it's really quite lovely, with lots of trees and bushes and crickets. I'm hidden from the road, and feel pretty safe. Having cell reception is a pleasant surprise, because it's pretty hilly out here, bordering on mountainous, and not super habited. But I think I'm pretty near to several towns, so I guess I got lucky.

3 comments:

jo said...

Hope today goes much smoother out there for you than the last two days have been.
Jo

Anonymous said...

hmm, i guess i was wrong about enjoying the new tire longer than the food. maybe you should get some more lobster ravioli..

Cheri said...

I would if I could...