Ending at Eric's - Providence, RI

This was one hell of a hot day. I made it to Rhode Island. The heat and sun were intense, but I started out strong on the cycle. I feel like I finally got back into good shape, and I was cruising up hill after hill feeling awesome about it. I stopped for an eggplant parmesan sub, and that fucked my groove all up. It slowed me down and made me seek bathrooms. This combined with the heat finally got me pretty worn out.

I made it to Providence. Eric, who works for the East Coast Greenway, called me and offered to host me for the night. Hell yes. I met him at the train station, still feeling mad woozy from subs and sun. We rode to Eric's place along more of the Greenway, while he pointed out more improvements that are in the works. I got a tour. We got to his house, where I met his wife, Mandy, who is obviously good people. They're vegetarian, they have two cats. I know they'd be good friends with some of my other friends. They use 365 brand soap, and have blueberries for their cereal. Eric has seltzer and lime to jazz up a glass of orange juice. There is a basket stacked high with clean folded towels in the bathroom. This gives me the sense that Eric and Mandy have their shit together. They're on a different plateau. Solid respectable setup, fun people to talk to. Ready generous hosts when the time comes. Mandy Googled my name before I got there. Google provides a quick link to this wealth of info, and my condiment packet collection. It's a little off-putting to have first impressions made before I meet someone. I have a ton of feet, and I like to put the best one forward for each situation. Still, I like when people read my blog, and I stand behind my attempted thorough transparency.

I took a shower. Eric took me out for dinner and a couple rounds of Bass. At 7:21pm we were sitting in a Lebanese restaurant/pizzeria. I had tabouli and pita, he had a plate of stuffed grape leaves. We discussed books and bicycles.

I feel like I really got torched by the sun, and I'm exhausted. After three days of bivy sacking around in the woods, I was very ready for the shower. My mind feels dimmed. It occurs to me now that the funny little booze binge in the middle of a strenuous adventure might be a lot to ask of my body. We'll see how this all pans out. Two beers is fine, eight is a crowd.